YouTube said to be Fined up to $200m over children's privacy violations

Alphabet's Google will spend up to $200 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission investigation into YouTube's alleged violation of a children's privacy law, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Politico reported the settlement is expected to be between $150 million and $200 million. The settlement is set to be announced next week and will be the largest ever fine imposed for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule by collecting personal information from kids without parental consent.

The FTC voted 3-2 to approve the settlement and sent it to the Justice Department as part of the review process, Reuters confirmed, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Washington Post reported the settlement's approval in July but did not detail the amount of the civil penalty.

The settlement will far surpass the previous record set in February, a $5.7 million civil penalty imposed on Musical.ly, which did not ask for users' ages for three years. The online library for Musical.ly – now known as TikTok – features music popular with kids.