The Department of Justice said Disney will pay the government $10 million after allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. A federal judge on Tuesday approved a settlement between Disney and the Federal Trade Commission.
Federal prosecutors said Disney failed to properly label its YouTube content as directed to children. All YouTube content creators are required to indicate whether videos are intended for children. Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, YouTube cannot collect data on videos intended for children.
By failing to mark the videos as for children, Disney enabled targeted advertising to kids, and personal information was collected without parental notice or consent, prosecutors said.
RELATED STORY | Disney invests $1B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool
The law prohibits collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
“The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their children’s information is collected and used,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement. “The department will take swift action to root out any unlawful infringement on parents’ rights to protect their children’s privacy.”
RELATED STORY | Disney and YouTube reach a deal to bring content back to YouTube TV
As part of the settlement, Disney must establish a program to review each video it publishes on YouTube to determine if it is targeted to children.
Disney’s YouTube channel has more than 6.5 million subscribers. Its main page features dozens of videos that have each generated more than 10 million views.
