Disney will pay $10 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that the entertainment company facilitated the “unlawful collection” of children’s personal data.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the FTC said that Disney Worldwide Services and Disney Entertainment Operations — two entities that offer technical support and media content — violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, known as COPPA, by failing to properly label some videos uploaded to YouTube as “made for kids.” The mislabeling also exposed children to “age-inappropriate YouTube features,” the FTC said in a statement.
“Our order penalizes Disney’s abuse of parents’ trust, and, through a mandated video-review program, makes room for the future of protecting kids online — age assurance technology,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement.
Signed into law in 1998, COPPA requires commercial website operators to disclose to parents of children under 13 that they are collecting personal data and obtain the parents’ prior consent.
The videos in question included content from Disney movies including “Coco,” “Frozen” and “Toy Story” and as well as music from “The Incredibles.”
A spokesperson for Disney told CBS News that the settlement does not involved Disney-owned and operated digital platforms and that it is limited to some of the content on the company’s YouTube platform.
“Disney has a long tradition of embracing the highest standards of compliance with children’s privacy laws, and we remain committed to investing in the tools needed to continue being a leader in this space,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
YouTube requires videos to be labeled as “made for kids” if children are the video’s primary audience or if the content reflects “an intent to target children,” according to the Alphabet-owned platform. YouTube also says on its website that failure to properly label videos could lead to “legal consequences under COPPA and other laws.”
YouTube began requiring video uploaders to add the “made for kids” label after it reached a similar settlement in 2019 with the FTC over COPPA violations.
Disney’s agreement with the FTC also calls for the company to create a program to review whether videos posted to YouTube should be designated as made for children the agency said.
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
