Disney to pay $10 million for violating children's privacy laws

In the United States, the Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission regarding the unlawful collection of children's personal data on its content distributed through YouTube. This complaint, brought forth in a recent filing, alleges that Disney Worldwide Services and Disney Entertainment Operations did not appropriately label certain videos as "made for kids," which directly violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). This federal law mandates that commercial website operators must notify parents before collecting information from children under 13 and must obtain their explicit consent. The FTC's complaint highlights that the mislabeling of these videos not only facilitated unauthorized data collection from minors but also exposed them to features on YouTube that were deemed inappropriate for their age. Among the Disney content involved in this case were popular titles such as "Coco," "Frozen," and "Toy Story," as well as music from "The Incredibles." The violations also included using this data for targeted advertising aimed at children, a practice that has become increasingly scrutinized amid growing concerns over children's privacy online. As part of the settlement agreement, Disney is required to create and implement an audience designation program that ensures its videos are correctly classified as directed toward children when such a designation is necessary. This development, outlined in the FTC's statement, seeks to enhance protections for children in the digital landscape and to promote responsible data management practices among content providers. Disney maintains that its settlement does not encompass its owned and operated platforms, arguing that the issues were limited to the content distributed on YouTube. The agreement reflects increasing regulatory pressure on corporations regarding children's online safety and privacy. The FTC chairman, Andrew N. Ferguson, emphasized the importance of penalizing violations that breach parental trust while promoting the adoption of age-assurance technologies. This case serves as a notable reminder of the evolving landscape of privacy laws in the United States, particularly with regard to digital content targeting young audiences, and it follows a prior settlement that Google, the parent company of YouTube, reached several years ago concerning similar issues regarding COPPA violations.