Disney to Pay $10 Million Over Children’s Data Privacy Violations
On Tue, Sep 2, 2025, The Walt Disney Company reached a settlement to pay a $10 million civil penalty. This action resolves allegations by the United States Department of Justice that its subsidiaries collected personal data from children without parental…
On Tue, Sep 2, 2025, The Walt Disney Company reached a settlement to pay a $10 million civil penalty. This action resolves allegations by the United States Department of Justice that its subsidiaries collected personal data from children without parental consent, violating federal law.
The lawsuit, Case No. 2:25-cv-08223, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, involves Disney's use of YouTube to distribute child-directed content. The Department of Justice claimed that Disney's actions contravened the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Disney Worldwide Services, Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC managed over 1,250 YouTube channels targeting viewers under 13. Disney allegedly set entire channels to "Not Made for Kids" (NMFK), despite having content aimed at children. Mislabeling allowed YouTube to collect data and serve ads to young viewers, bypassing child-safety settings.
The DOJ complaint highlighted communications from November 2019, where YouTube instructed Disney to properly designate its videos. Despite YouTube's reclassification of over 300 videos in mid-2020, Disney did not adopt a video-by-video designation approach.
On Tue, Sep 2, 2025, The Walt Disney Company reached a settlement to pay a $10 million civil penalty.
Disney continued to support targeted advertising on misclassified content, conducting at least twelve ad campaigns generating over 350,000 impressions. This violated COPPA’s notice and consent requirements.
Disney agreed to implement compliance measures, including:
Enhanced audit procedures for accurate audience designations Staff training on COPPA requirements Regular reporting to the FTC A verification process for parental consent
The $10 million penalty, payable to the U.S. Treasury, is one of the largest for COPPA violations. Disney neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in this settlement.
This settlement emphasizes the necessity for digital content providers to adhere to children’s privacy protections. As online platforms become more central to family entertainment, compliance with federal privacy laws is crucial to avoid significant enforcement actions.
Based on reporting by GBHackers.