Silver Golub & Teitell is lead counsel for a proposed class of children suing Google LLC and YouTube LLC, as well as children’s entertainment companies that operated YouTube channels such as Hasbro, Mattel, Cartoon Network and others, alleging that their personal information was illegally collected, stored, analyzed and then used to show them and other children advertisements that were calculated to influence their behavior.
SGT's clients have brought common law privacy claims as well as unfair and deceptive business practices claims under the consumer protection statutes of multiple states.
In December 2022, SGT obtained a landmark unanimous decision from a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that state law remedies for violations of state law overlapping with COPPA violations were not preempted, reversing the decision of the District Court, which had twice ruled that SGT's clients' claims were pre-empted by COPPA. The opinion can be read here.
After six years of litigation, the plaintiffs agreed to a $30 million settlement that provides compensation for the class, estimated to number between 35 million and 45 million children. Judge Susan van Keulen granted preliminary approval in an order signed on September 23, 2025.
The case is Hubbard et al. v. Google et al., No. 5:19-cv-07016 (N.D. Cal.) and is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
