Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Plaintiffs A.B., C.D.1, C.D.2, C.D.3, E.F.1, and E.F.2, all minors represented by guardians ad litem, filed a class action against Google LLC and AdMob Google, Inc. alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The complaint alleged that Google collected, used, or disclosed personal information from children under 13 who downloaded or used applications from Google Play, particularly through the "Designed for Families" program, from April 1, 2015, to the present. After over two years of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, and mediation with a neutral mediator, the parties executed a Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release on January 13, 2026.
On May 1, 2026, the court provisionally certified a settlement class defined as all U.S. residents who were under 13 when they downloaded or used a Google Play application during the class period and from whom defendants allegedly collected personal information. The court granted preliminary approval, finding the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate, and ordered a comprehensive notice plan. The notice period closed on August 4, 2026, with no objections filed and only 21 class members opting out. By September 8, 2026, the settlement administrator Kroll Settlement Administration LLC had received 656,974 claims. Plaintiffs then moved for final approval, which the court considered at a hearing on September 24, 2026.
The Court’s Holding
The court granted final approval of the settlement, certifying the settlement class under Rule 23(a) and (b)(3) for settlement purposes only. The court confirmed the adequacy of the notice plan, class representatives, class counsel (Silver Golub & Teitell LLP and Lexington Law Group, LLP), and the settlement administrator. Applying the Hanlon factors under Rule 23(e), the court found the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate. Key factors included the extensive arm's-length negotiations over two years with a respected mediator, the substantial risks and costs of continued litigation, the $8.25 million cash fund providing meaningful immediate relief, and class counsel's informed assessment after discovery and motion practice. The court noted the per-claim recovery of approximately $12.55 (based on 656,974 claims) falls within the range of reasonableness for comparable data privacy settlements.
The court adopted the proposed plan of allocation distributing the net settlement fund pro rata to all valid claimants, finding it a rational and fair method given the allegations and estimated usage periods. The court ordered the action dismissed with prejudice, with the settlement agreement serving as the exclusive remedy for released claims. The court retained exclusive jurisdiction to enforce, interpret, and implement the settlement. The order specified that the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Google and is not admissible as evidence of liability in other proceedings. A post-distribution accounting must be filed within 21 days of substantial completion of fund distribution.
Key Takeaways
- The court approved an $8.25 million COPPA class action settlement covering children under 13 who used Google Play apps from April 2015 onward, with a pro rata distribution yielding approximately $12.55 per valid claim.
- Class certification was granted for settlement purposes only under Rule 23(a) and (b)(3), with the class defined by objective criteria tied to the operative facts and COPPA allegations.
- The absence of objections and minimal opt-outs (21 out of an estimated 3.8–10 million class members), combined with over 656,000 claims filed, demonstrated strong class support for the settlement.
- The court applied the Ninth Circuit's Hanlon factors and found the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate, emphasizing the mediator's role, litigation risks, counsel's informed judgment, and the recovery's consistency with comparable privacy settlements.
- The settlement includes a broad release of claims but preserves the court's jurisdiction for enforcement and implementation, and explicitly states it is not an admission of liability by Google.
Why It Matters
This decision resolves a significant COPPA class action against a major technology platform, establishing a settlement framework for children's data privacy claims involving app store ecosystems. The court's approval of a per-claim recovery of approximately $12.55—lower than initial estimates but consistent with other approved privacy class actions—provides a benchmark for future COPPA and data privacy settlements. The ruling reinforces the Ninth Circuit's Hanlon framework for evaluating settlement fairness and demonstrates how courts assess reasonableness when initial per-member estimates prove optimistic due to higher-than-expected claims rates. The case also illustrates the procedural path for settlement-only class certification under Rule 23, where litigation risks and the difficulty of maintaining a litigation class weigh heavily in favor of approval.