The American Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General reached a settlement with Google (YouTube) for having violated the American Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

YouTube was accused of illegally harvesting the data of children, tracking their browsing behaviour in order to offer them targeted advertising,, all without the consent of their parents which is required by law for children under 13 years.

You can read more about the story in the New York Times article written by Natasha Singer and Kate Conger “Google Is Fined $170 Million for Violating Children’s Privacy on YouTube” here.