A California federal judge indicated on Thursday that he will grant preliminary approval to Google's $8.25 million settlement to resolve putative class allegations that Google surreptitiously tracked children online for advertising, while urging counsel to "think carefully" about their plan to use behavioral tracking as part of the plan to notify class members.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

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'Think Carefully': Judge Wary Of Notice Plan In Google Deal

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge indicated on Thursday that he will grant preliminary approval to Google's $8.25 million settlement to resolve putative class allegations that Google surreptitiously tracked children online for advertising, while urging counsel to "think carefully" about their plan to use behavioral tracking as part of the plan to notify class members.

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Cisco Warns Justices Of 'Serious Risks' In China Torture Case

By Y. Peter Kang

Cisco has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a suit alleging that the tech company aided the Chinese government's allegedly unlawful torture of Falun Gong members, saying a green light would pose "serious risks" to foreign relations and foreign policy.

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Coalition Asks Court To Back Probe Into IRS-ICE Data Sharing

By Kevin Pinner

More discovery is needed into the IRS' data-sharing agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in light of the tax authority recently admitting to breaching its terms, a coalition challenging the agreement told a D.C. federal court in seeking a remand.

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Mich. Panel Orders Hearing Over GPS Data In Shooting Case

By Parker Quinlan

A Michigan state appeals court has ordered a new evidentiary hearing to decide if a man on an ankle monitor had his rights violated when Detroit police used the monitor's data to track him down even though the underlying case requiring it had been dismissed.

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ENFORCEMENT

Apple Knowingly Hosts Child Porn On ICloud, W.Va. AG Says

By Rae Ann Varona

Apple knowingly allows child sexual abuse material to be stored and distributed on its iCloud platform, West Virginia's attorney general alleged Thursday in what he called a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, saying the tech giant's "privacy" brand provides cover for a defective product that violates state consumer protection law. 

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FCC Floats Nearly $200K Fine On Dahua For Late Filing

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will seek an almost $200,000 fine against Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. for allegedly failing to file paperwork detailing its subsidiaries and affiliates going back three years under a U.S. national security program.

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LITIGATION

TD Garden Owners Say Pot Shops Copying Name

By Julie Manganis

The company that owns Boston sports and entertainment venue TD Garden says a cannabis retail chain is infringing its trademarks by doing business as "The Boston Garden Dispensary," in an infringement lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Massachusetts federal court.

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Conn. Medical Office Faces 3 'Insomnia' Data Breach Suits

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut medical practice failed to secure its patients' and employees' private information ahead of a ransomware attack that likely affected thousands of people, then flouted its duty to provide the victims with proper notice, according to three proposed class actions filed in the past week.

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Texas AG Launches Latest Suit Over Temu Data, China Ties

By Hailey Konnath

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday accused online bargain app Temu of secretly stealing customer data and exposing it to the Chinese Communist Party, calling it "spyware disguised as a shopping app" in a suit filed in federal court.

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Court Won't Seal FBI Documents In UM Coach Hacking Case

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan federal judge on Thursday ordered a former University of Michigan assistant football coach accused of hacking female college students' accounts to file public copies of a pair of FBI documents that both the coach and federal prosecutors wanted sealed.

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Amazon Throwing Out Tech Intercom Not Sanctionable: Judge

By Bryan Koenig

While Amazon.com Inc. was negligent in allowing a consulting engineer to throw out an advanced intercom at the center of a trade secrets and unauthorized computer access proposed class action, a New York federal magistrate judge said Wednesday that doing so didn't cost the intercom's maker any relevant evidence.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

FCC Satellite Co. Action Starts New Chapter For Team Telecom

The Federal Communications Commission's recent settlement with satellite company Marlink marks a modest but meaningful step forward in how the U.S. regulates foreign involvement in its telecommunications sector, proving "Team Telecom" conditions are not limited to companies with substantial foreign ownership, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

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Series

Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Barnes & Thornburg Adds 35 Ballard Spahr Attys, 3 Offices

By Tracey Read

Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced Thursday that it has added all 35 public finance lawyers from Ballard Spahr LLP to its government services and finance department in multiple locations around the country, including three new markets in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix.

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DOJ Atty Fined $500 A Day Over Withheld ICE Detainee ID

By Hailey Konnath

A Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday ordered a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer to pay $500 a day until an immigrant recently released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention gets his identification documents returned, according to the case docket.

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8th Circ. Pick Joins List Of Personal Attys Elevated By Trump

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's latest appellate pick has served as the president's personal attorney and bills himself as "an attorney and strategist who fights for conservative values" on his LinkedIn profile.

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Analysis

Attys React To Test Of Free Speech At Winter Olympics

By David Steele

The Winter Olympics in Milan have delivered the expected drama of national and individual success and defeat, but for sports law experts, one Ukrainian athlete's expulsion stood as a test of the rules governing political protest and personal expression.

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No Verdict Thursday In Goldstein Case

By Jared Foretek

The jury in SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's tax evasion trial broke for the weekend on Thursday without reaching a verdict.

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Disqualification Bids Mount For Trio Leading NJ US Atty Office

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey criminal defendant who previously challenged the legality of former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's appointment has now moved to disqualify the three assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the office, aligning himself with a growing bloc of defendants saying the leadership structure violates federal appointment laws.

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Del. Chancery Court Saw Record Number Of Filings In 2025

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's nationally important Chancery Court saw a record number of case filings in 2025 and has relied on the state's Superior Court to help ease its judges' caseload, the First State's chief justice told legislators on Thursday.

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Doc Fight Delays Trial In $22M McCarter & English Loan Suit

By Brian Steele

The delayed disclosure of thousands of documents has created "a lot of prejudice" against McCarter & English as it fights a $22.5 million professional malpractice lawsuit, and the impending trial must be pushed back again, a Connecticut state judge said Thursday.

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Ill. Justices Face Judge's Suit Over Removal For MAGA Op-Ed

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state judge who had published a MAGA-leaning opinion column, then was temporarily reinstated to the bench amid a judge shortage, has sued the justices of the state Supreme Court, alleging they deprived him of due process in ordering his removal.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ballard Spahr

Barnes & Thornburg

Fryman PC

Giatras Law Firm

Gibson Dunn

Hinckley Allen

Israel David LLC

Koskoff Koskoff

Leach & Walker

Lewis Johs

Lowey Dannenberg

McCarter & English

Milberg PLLC

Munger Tolles

Patterson Belknap

Paul Weiss

Price Benowitz

Quinn Emanuel

Robbins Geller

Schonbrun Seplow

Silver Golub

Siri & Glimstad

Stranch Jennings

Wiggin & Dana

Wilson Sonsini

Zimmer Law Group

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon.com Inc.

American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees

Apple Inc.

Boston Bruins

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Law School

CBS Interactive Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.

Delaware ADR LLC

Delaware North Cos. Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Dropbox Inc.

Duke University

First Interstate BancSystem Inc.

Google LLC

Instagram Inc.

International Olympic Committee

LinkedIn Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Otis Worldwide Corp.

TD Garden

Temple University

Temu

Tesla Inc.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Cook County Circuit Court

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Illinois Supreme Court

Internal Revenue Service

Millennium Challenge Corp.

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Supreme Court

West Virginia Attorney General's Office