A federal judge has approved an order that requires Disney to pay $10 million to resolve allegations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding violations of children’s privacy laws. The settlement addresses claims that Disney allowed personal data from children watching kid-directed videos on YouTube to be collected without proper parental notification or consent, as required under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule).
The complaint was filed in September by the Department of Justice after a referral from the FTC. It accused Disney Worldwide Services, Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC of not properly labeling certain uploaded YouTube videos as “Made for Kids” (MFK). This mislabeling allegedly resulted in YouTube collecting personal information from viewers under 13 and using it for targeted advertising.
According to the finalized settlement, Disney will pay a $10 million civil penalty for violating COPPA regulations. The company must also comply with COPPA requirements moving forward, which include notifying parents before collecting personal information from children under 13 and obtaining verifiable parental consent for both collection and use of such data.
Additionally, Disney is required to establish a program to review whether videos posted on YouTube should be marked as MFK unless YouTube adopts age assurance technologies capable of determining users’ ages or no longer allows creators to label content as MFK. This provision is designed with future technological changes in mind, particularly increased adoption of age verification tools intended to enhance online child safety.
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