Alphabet Inc.’s Google has agreed to pay up to $200 million to resolve a Federal Trade Commission investigation into YouTube’s alleged violations of a children’s privacy law, according to published reports.

The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines to approve the settlement, which is expected to be announced next week. It would be the biggest fine imposed for violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, which prohibits the collection of personal information from kids without parental consent.

Google GOOGL, +1.13% GOOG, +1.16% and the FTC did not immediately respond for comment. Alphabet shares are down slightly at $1,189.49 in late trading Friday.

The previous record settlement, in February, was a $5.7 million civil penalty imposed on Musical.ly, now known as TikTok. It did not ask for the age of users for three years.

The YouTube settlement, reported by the Wall Street Journal and Politico, is the latest by the FTC to crack down on Silicon Valley privacy violations. Last month, Facebook Inc. FB, +2.12% paid $5 billion to resolve a long-running probe into its data practices.

Read more:Facebook stock hits highest price in nearly a year after reports of $5 billion FTC fine

Privacy groups, however, immediately complained that the FTC let YouTube off easy. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said the fine should have been at least $500 million.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called the fine “nominal” and said federal regulators “must come down hard on companies that infringe on children’s privacy.”

Google has taken steps to address the issue. On Thursday, it launched YouTubeKids “to create a safer environment for kids to explore their interests and curiosity, while giving parents the tools to customize the experience for their kids,” the company said. Parents would choose from three different age groups -- preschool, ages 5-7, and 8-12 -- for age-appropriate content.

Bloomberg recently reported YouTube is finalizing plans to end targeted ads on videos aimed at minors.