Disney to pay $10 million to settle privacy allegation over children’s videos on YouTube
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Disney to pay $10 million to settle privacy allegation over children’s videos on YouTube")
Representative image Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons)
The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday that the settlements stem from a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into Disney’s data practices on third-party platforms. The agreement was first announced in September and formalised through a federal court order.
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million (£7.4 million) to resolve claims that it has breached US children’s privacy laws by not properly designating some of its YouTube videos as made for children, which reportedly enabled targeted advertising and the collection of personal data without parental consent.
The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday that the settlements stem from a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into Disney’s data practices on third-party platforms. The agreement was first announced in September and formalised through a federal court order.
According to regulators, Disney did not label certain videos as child-directed despite their clearly child-oriented nature. This reportedly led to children being shown targeted ads and having their personal data gathered without adequate parental notice or consent.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
The allegations relate to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a 1998 law that limits how personal data from children under 13 can be collected and used. COPPA requires content creators to inform parents and obtain verifiable consent before collecting such information.
As per the FTC, the alleged mislabelling of Disney threatens safeguards designed to curb targeted advertising on children’s content, particularly on platforms such as YouTube. Based on the settlement, Disney also agreed to develop a compliance programme to ensure compliance with the data protection laws for children.
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The Department of Justice stated that the programme is planned to stop such violations in the future. “The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their children's information is collected and used,” Brett Shumate, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's civil division, said in a statement announcing the court order.
Previously, the company has stated that the settlement applies only to the distribution of some Disney content on YouTube and does not include Disney-owned and operated digital platforms.
