Disney agrees to $10 MILLION civil penalty for violating children’s privacy laws

The US Justice Department said a federal court has approved a settlement with Disney that will require the company to pay $10 million in civil penalties over allegations it violated children’s online privacy rules tied to its YouTube presence.

According to the announcement, the case involved Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC. Federal Trade Commission allegations claimed the companies failed to properly flag certain Disney YouTube video content as directed toward children, a step that determines how the platform handles data collection and advertising.

COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, restricts websites and online services from collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13 without giving parents notice and obtaining verifiable parental consent. The government’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, argued that Disney’s alleged failure to label content appropriately led to targeted advertising being served to children on YouTube and enabled the collection of children’s data without the required parental safeguards.

Disney’s YouTube content has been among the most heavily viewed in the country, the Justice Department noted, drawing billions of views in the United States. “The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their children’s information is collected and used,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will take swift action to root out any unlawful infringement on parents’ rights to protect their children’s privacy.”

Beyond the financial penalty, the stipulated order also requires Disney to change its YouTube operations to ensure compliance moving forward. The settlement bars the company from operating on the platform in ways that violate COPPA and mandates the creation of a formal compliance program designed to prevent similar issues in the future.