A federal court has sanctioned a settlement requiring Disney to pay $10 million in civil penalties following allegations by the US Justice Department that the company breached children's online privacy regulations related to its YouTube activities.
As reported by The Post Millennial, the case involved Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC, with the Federal Trade Commission accusing these entities of failing to appropriately identify certain Disney YouTube videos as child-directed. This oversight allegedly influenced how data collection and advertising were managed on the platform.
The Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) mandates that websites and online services must not collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13 without parental notification and consent. The government's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, contended that Disney's purported negligence in labeling content led to targeted advertising aimed at children and unauthorized data collection.
Disney's YouTube content, noted for its massive viewership in the United States, has been at the center of this legal scrutiny. "The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their childrens information is collected and used," stated Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Departments Civil Division. "The Department will take swift action to root out any unlawful infringement on parents rights to protect their childrens privacy."
In addition to the monetary penalty, the settlement obliges Disney to modify its YouTube operations to ensure future compliance. The agreement prohibits the company from engaging in practices that contravene COPPA and requires the establishment of a formal compliance program to avert similar issues going forward.
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