Google, YouTube content providers must face U.S. children’s privacy lawsuit

Dec 28 (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit accusing Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google and various other corporations of violating the privacy of youngsters underneath age 13 by monitoring their YouTube activity without having parental consent, in buy to mail them targeted advertising and marketing.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle claimed Congress did not intend to pre-empt state regulation-based privacy claims by adopting the federal Kid’s On-line Privacy Defense Act, or COPPA.

That regulation gives the Federal Trade Commission and condition lawyers common, but not private plaintiffs, the authority to regulate the on the web collection of personalized info about small children beneath age 13.

The lawsuit alleged that Google’s details assortment violated very similar state guidelines, and that YouTube material suppliers these as Hasbro Inc (HAS.O), Mattel Inc (MAT.O), the Cartoon Network (WBD.O) and DreamWorks Animation (CMCSA.O) lured young children to their channels, recognizing that they would be tracked.

In July 2021, U.S. District Choose Beth Labson Freeman in San Francisco dismissed the lawsuit, declaring the federal privacy regulation pre-empted the plaintiffs’ promises under California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Tennessee regulation.

But in Wednesday’s 3- conclusion, Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown stated the federal law’s wording manufactured it “nonsensical” to believe Congress supposed to bar the plaintiffs from invoking condition legal guidelines targeting the exact alleged misconduct.

The circumstance was returned to Freeman to think about other grounds that Google and the articles vendors may well have to dismiss it.

Attorneys for Google and the written content companies did not promptly answer to requests for comment. The kid’s lawyers did not promptly answer to identical requests.

In October 2019, Google agreed to pay $170 million to settle expenses by the FTC and New York Lawyer Common Letitia James that YouTube illegally collected kid’s own information without parental consent.

The plaintiffs in the San Francisco case explained Google did not start complying with COPPA until January 2020.

Their lawsuit sought damages for YouTube people age 16 and young from July 2013 to April 2020.

The situation is Jones et al v. Google LLC et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals, No. 21-16281.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York
Enhancing by Matthew Lewis

Our Criteria: The Thomson Reuters Rely on Concepts.