Is YouTube ethical?

A federal jury has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million for improperly snooping on people's smartphones during a nearly decade-long period of intrusions.

Plaintiffs argued that those background transfers consumed cellular data that users paid for through their mobile carriers and primarily benefited Google, raising privacy and consumer protection concerns.

Google Class Action Lawsuit: How to Claim Payout for $135 Million Data Settlement - Newsweek

A new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate reveals that Google made $10.2 million over the last two years running deceptive advertisements for these fake clinics.

After a grueling seven weeks of court proceedings and more than 40 hours of tense deliberations across nine days in one of the country’s most closely watched civil trials, jurors handed down a landmark decision in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, finding Instagram and YouTube responsible for the suffering of a Chico, Calif., woman who charged the platforms were built to addict young users.

“Today, a jury saw the truth and held Meta and Google accountable for designing products that addict and harm children,” said Lexi Hazam, court-appointed co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the related federal action.

(CN) — A federal judge granted final approval for a $30 million class action settlement against Google on Tuesday, after six years of litigation with parents claiming the tech giant violated children’s privacy by collecting data while they watched YouTube videos.

Google has given $150,000 of free advertising to an anti-abortion group that tricks women into thinking it offers abortion services but actually seeks to stop “abortion-minded women” from having their pregnancies terminated.

Google has been fined 403 million euros ($463 million) for breaching the European Union’s strict privacy rules because it mishandled users’ location data, the bloc’s data privacy watchdog said Monday.

Google fined €403 million by EU over location data privacy violations

Google fined €403 million by EU over location data privacy violations | Fortune

Google has been fined €403m (£345m) by the Republic of Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) over its handling of location data.

In addition to being fined, Google has also been ordered to bring its data processing into compliance within six months.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission announced on Monday that it has fined Google 403 million euros, or about $462 million, over the tech giant’s processing of location data.

Google fined $462 million after regulators uncover problems with a familiar feature - Fast Company

The commission also ordered that Google bring its processing of location data into compliance within six months.

Google fined more than €400m by Irish regulator over its use of location data | Google | The Guardian

Imposing a fine of €403m, the DPC ordered Google to bring its processing into compliance with the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) within six months. It is the fourth-largest fine imposed by the Irish regulator, which has EU-wide responsibility for all the US tech giants with EU headquarters in Ireland.

The fine, imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), comes after complaints from multiple European consumer organisations that Google was following every step users took.

Imposing a fine of €403m, the DPC ordered Google to bring its processing into compliance with the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) within six months.

Google’s agreement to settle comes nearly a year after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a $1.4 billion settlement from Meta over the unauthorized use of biometric data from Facebook and Instagram users.

As reported by Cryptopolitan earlier, Google agreed to a $1.375 billion settlement with Texas over allegations it unlawfully tracked users’ facial recognition data, location history, and Chrome Incognito activity.

Google has faced other privacy lawsuits, including one earlier this year where it paid nearly $1.4 billion in a settlement with Texas over allegations the company violated the state's privacy laws.

That case is ongoing, but a similar lawsuit filed against Google resulted in a $1.375 billion settlement in May 2025.

The content producers filed a federal class action in June 2020 accusing YouTube and its parent Google of using racial profiling in algorithms and artificial intelligence to filter and censor their video content so it reaches fewer viewers, similar to improper censorship of LGBTQ+ content creators the tech giants said was fixed years ago following a 2019 federal lawsuit.

A group of black YouTube creators filed suit against the company this week, alleging that the platform has been systematically removing their content without explanation.

The 2022 lawsuit claimed that Mountain View, California-based Google viewed Black job candidates “through harmful racial stereotypes” and claimed that hiring managers deemed Black candidates “not ‘Googly’ enough, a plain dog whistle for race discrimination.”

Google said when the settlement was reached that it strongly disagrees with the allegations that it treated anyone improperly and remains “committed to paying, hiring, and leveling all employees consistently.”

April Curley, a former Google employee, had sued the tech giant for racial discrimination, saying it engages in a “pattern and practice” of unfair treatment for its Black workers.

Google settles lawsuit over alleged racial disparities in hiring, pay and promotions | AP News

Google said when the settlement was reached that it strongly disagrees with the allegations that it treated anyone improperly and remains "committed to paying, hiring, and leveling all employees consistently."

Google settles racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million

Google agrees to pay $28m in racial bias lawsuit

A preliminary settlement covering more than 4,000 Google employees in California and New York was filed on Thursday evening in the Oakland, California federal court, and requires a judge's approval.

Google settles Black employees' racial bias lawsuit for $50 million

(CN) — A federal judge granted final approval Thursday to a $50 million class action settlement over claims Google discriminated against Black employees.

Google LLC, US Department of Labor settlement resolves alleged pay, hiring discrimination at California, Washington State locations

Google LLC, US Department of Labor settlement resolves alleged pay, hiring discrimination at California, Washington State locations | U.S. Department of Labor

Department of Labor has reached a settlement with Google LLC to resolve allegations of systemic compensation and hiring discrimination at the company’s California and Washington State facilities and will pay over $3.8 million to more than 5,500 current employees and job applicants.

Google LLC, US Department of Labor settlement resolves alleged pay, hiring discrimination at California, Washington State locations

Department of Labor has reached a settlement with Google LLC to resolve allegations of systemic compensation and hiring discrimination at the company’s California and Washington State facilities and will pay over $3.8 million to more than 5,500 current employees and job applicants.

Google LLC, US Department of Labor settlement resolves alleged pay, hiring discrimination at California, Washington State locations | U.S. Department of Labor

Google said when the settlement was reached that it strongly disagrees with the allegations that it treated anyone improperly and remains "committed to paying, hiring, and leveling all employees consistently.”

Google Settles Racial Discrimination Lawsuit for $50 Million

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) based its complaint on research by the Forbrukerrådet, the Norwegian consumer agency, which claimed Google used “various tricks” to ensure location history and web and app activity were enabled.

Google, YouTube Settle Kids' Data Suit With $30M Payout - Law360

Google is named as a defendant in the November lawsuit and is accused of “knowingly acquiescing in, failing to remedy, and materially assisting the unauthorized access” into Ritter’s accounts despite being provided notice.

Former Google chief's spying, sex assault lawsuit sent to arbitration - Los Angeles Times

Last year, Google was sued in Minnesota state court by a local solar panel installation company that claimed Google's AI Overviews hallucinated false and defamatory statements about the company (see more here).

Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that ⁠its voice-activated assistant spied inappropriately on smartphone users, violating ‍their privacy.

Google settles Google Assistant privacy lawsuit for $68 million

Does your child love YouTube videos? Did you know that while little Susie was watching her favorite shows, YouTube was collecting data and using it to send her targeted ads? Under a settlement with the FTC, YouTube and its parent company, Google, must pay a record $170 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule.

A judge approved Google’s $30 million settlement to families over accusations it invaded kids’ privacy on YouTube.

US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen on Tuesday gave the final stamp of approval to the settlement, ending a six-year legal battle in which parents claimed Google violated children’s privacy by collecting data while they watched YouTube videos.

Google hit with $30 million settlement for violating kids’ privacy

Google to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated children’s privacy on YouTube by collecting personal data without parental consent

The families and their children first filed the class action in 2019, claiming that Google violated the privacy of minors by collecting personal information while they watched YouTube videos.

On September 4, 2019, the FTC hosted a press conference at its headquarters in Washington, DC, to discuss its settlement with Google and YouTube over allegations by the FTC and the New York Attorney General that the YouTube video sharing service illegally collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent.

Case 1:19-cv-02642 Document 1 Filed 09/04/19 Page 1 of 19 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, and PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York, Plaintiffs, vs. GOOGLE LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and YOUTUBE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Defendants.

COMPLAINT FOR

A judge approved Google’s $30 million settlement to families over accusations it invaded kids’ privacy on YouTube – and people eligible to benefit from the class-action suit need to file by Jan. 21 to claim their award.

Google hit with €403m fine by Irish data watchdog over GDPR violations

Google agrees to pay $28m in racial bias lawsuit

Millions of Google users could soon receive part of a $5 million class-action settlement alleging the company automatically renewed Google Play subscriptions without properly notifying customers, a violation of California's Automatic Renewal law.

Antitrust: General Court confirms the Commission Google Search case Today, the General Court confirmed the Commission's June 2017 decision that Google abused its market dominance in general search by treating its own comparison shopping service more favourably than competing comparison shopping services.

The US Federal Trade Commission has been investigating whether Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube violated consumer protection laws when it suspended the accounts of users, according to people familiar with the probe.

Federal Trade Commission has been investigating whether Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube violated consumer protection laws when it suspended the accounts of users, according to people familiar with the probe.

In July 2024, users reported that Google’s autocomplete feature did not surface predictions related to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law

Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law | Federal Trade Commission

Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law

Choice Screens: Google must disclose each Choice Screen, the related distribution agreement, if relevant, and its plan for implementing that Choice Screen to Plaintiffs and the TC at least sixty (60) days in advance of the Choice Screen being displayed to any user.

Google collects data to be used for targeted advertising purposes, it sells advertising space and also acts as an online advertising intermediary.

•AdSense for Search: In March 2019, the EC announced its decision that certain provisions in Google's agreements with AdSense for Search partners infringed European antitrust laws, imposed a fine of €1.5 billion, and directed actions related to AdSense for Search partners' agreements, which we implemented prior to the decision. In 2019, we recognized a charge of $1.7 billion for the fine and appealed the EC decision. In September 2024, the General Court overturned the EC decision and annulled the €1.5 billion fine. The EC has appealed the General Court's decision with the European Court of Justice.

In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the European Commission (EC) announced decisions that certain actions taken by Google infringed European competition law and imposed fines of €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion as of June 27, 2017), €4.3 billion ($5.1 billion as of June 30, 2018), and €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion as of March 20, 2019), respectively.

•Android: In July 2018, the EC announced its decision that certain provisions in Google’s Android-related distribution agreements infringed European antitrust laws, imposed a €4.3 billion fine, and directed the termination of the conduct at issue. We appealed the EC decision and implemented changes to certain of our Android distribution practices. In September 2022, the General Court affirmed the EC decision but reduced the fine from €4.3 billion to €4.1 billion. We subsequently appealed the General Court's affirmation of the EC decision with the European Court of Justice, which remains pending. In 2018, we recognized a charge of $5.1 billion for the fine, which we reduced by $217 million in 2022.

A group of former Google employees may proceed with claims that the company unlawfully retaliated against them following their participation in a protest against the company's work with the Israeli government, a federal judge held Thursday.

Pro-Palestinian protesters’ retaliation lawsuit against Google may proceed

As to Google's first point, the Complaint explicitly alleges that the protest was an effort to oppose not only Project Nimbus, but also the "harassment, intimidation, bullying, silencing, and censorship of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Googlers." And while the Complaint does not plausibly allege that Skaf was treated differently on account of her race or ethnicity, as opposed to her political views, it does plausibly allege that she and her fellow protestors "possessed a good faith, reasonable belief that the employer's conduct qualified as an unlawful employment practice" under Title VII and the NYCHRL.

“We must resist Google’s repression of worker organizing, and demand that Google be held responsible for their retaliatory actions against employees asking for ethical applications of their labor,” Zelda Montes, a former Google software engineer who was fired for participating in the protest, said in a statement.

Google said at the time that employees who were terminated had physically disrupted workplaces and blocked colleagues from accessing company facilities, conduct it said violated company policies.

Judge allows retaliation claims in ex-Google employee’s lawsuit over Israel protest - Israel & Jewish News - JNS

On March 8, 2024, Skaf received an email from Google Security notifying her that she had been "doxxed" by having her name, work location, and internal Google profile picture included in a Daily Wire press article.

The jury, however, did not find Google violated the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, and declined to award additional damages.

According to the class action lawsuit website for the case, "Google unlawfully accessed their [class action members’] mobile devices to collect, save, and use the data concerning their activity on non-Google apps that have incorporated certain Google software code into the apps."

$425 Million Google Class Action Lawsuit: Do You Qualify for a Payout? | Kiplinger

Earlier this year, Google joined a growing list of US firms that are abandoning commitments to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their recruitment policies.

Google agrees to pay $28m in racial bias lawsuit

DEI: Google joins US firms abandoning diversity recruitment goals

Google scraps diversity-based hiring goals amid policy review, report says

Google is ending its diversity-based hiring goals and reviewing DEI initiatives, citing compliance with federal policies.

"Google scraps diversity-based hiring targets", 6 February 2025

Google scraps diversity-based hiring goals amid policy review, report says - Business and Human Rights Centre

Last week, Google outlined plans to scrap some of its diversity hiring targets — joining a growing list of U.S. companies that have abandoned or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In 2020, Google set a target of increasing leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30 percent by 2025 and more than doubling the number of Black employees at non-senior levels. 10 In February 2025, the company informed employees that it would no longer maintain those hiring goals and that its teams were evaluating program changes required by recent court decisions and executive orders applicable to federal contractors.

Major employers including Meta and Google suspended minority hiring targets and dropped some references to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” from their websites and regulatory filings around the time of Trump’s order.

Japanese antitrust body accuses Google of violations - Fast Company

The Japan Fair Trade Commission’s “cease and desist order” says Google must stop the preinstallation of the Google search engine in Android smartphones, which it said in effect shuts out competition.

Meta and YouTube found liable in landmark child social media harm case, ordered to pay $3 million | Fortune

After more than 40 hours of deliberation across nine days, California jurors decided Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design or operation of their platforms.

A jury found both Meta and YouTube liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services, awarding the plaintiff $3 million in damages.

It awarded K.G.M. $3 million in compensatory damages, finding Meta 70% responsible for harm caused to the now 20-year-old plaintiff, and YouTube responsible for 30%.

Jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent in landmark lawsuit on social media safety

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury found both Meta and YouTube liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services.

Customers are also only eligible if they bought their subscription directly from YouTube, not through the Apple App Store.

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing that he has filed a lawsuit in Phillips County Circuit Court against Google LLC, YouTube LLC, XXVI Holdings, Inc., and parent company Alphabet, Inc. for engaging in deceptive and unconscionable trade practices in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA):

And those practices allowed YouTube to deliver targeted ads to those users.

The United States’ Reply in Support of Its Motion for Sanctions Against Google, LLC and an Evidentiary Hearing to Determine the Appropriate Relief [REDACTED] (March 31, 2023)

Google is set to go to trial this week to defend against another antitrust lawsuit from federal prosecutors who claim it has a monopoly on online ad sales.

The Commission has informed Google and the competition authorities of the Member States that it has opened proceedings in this case.

Require Google and iHeartMedia to distribute the order to certain people, file compliance reports with the Commission, and keep records to allow the FTC to ensure compliance.