Disney fined $10M for collecting children's data on YouTube
What's the story
Disney has been slapped with a $10 million fine by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in the US. The entertainment giant was accused of not labeling its YouTube videos as "Made for Kids," a requirement under federal law to protect children under 13 from data collection and targeted advertising.
Commitment
Disney agrees to pay penalty
In light of the FTC's allegations, Disney has agreed to pay the $10 million penalty. The company also pledged to change its practices in line with COPPA, which mandates parental consent for data collection from users under 13. "Supporting the well-being and safety of kids and families is at the heart of what we do," Disney said in a statement.
Notification
YouTube flagged 300 videos not marked as 'Made for kids'
The FTC's complaint revealed that YouTube had notified Disney in June 2020 about some 300 videos not marked as "Made for Kids." These included clips from popular films like The Incredibles, Coco, Toy Story, Tangled and Frozen. Despite being informed by YouTube and redesignating those videos, Disney allegedly continued its policy of channel-level designations instead of individual video markings when necessary.
Ad practices
FTC alleges targeted advertising on improperly designated videos
The FTC also alleged that Disney enabled targeted advertising on videos that were not properly designated as "Made for Kids." This was done across several channels including Disney Channel, Disney Descendants, Disney Family, Disney Games, Disney Junior, Disney Music, Mickey Mouse and Pixar Cars. The settlement requires the firm to maintain an Audience Designation Program to ensure proper classification of all its YouTube content.
Trust breach
Age assurance technology could be the future
Andrew Ferguson, the FTC Chairman, condemned Disney's actions as an abuse of parents' trust. He emphasized the need for age assurance technology to protect kids online in the future. The settlement also paves way for YouTube to potentially adopt this tech, which would let it determine viewers' ages and eliminate the need for individual video tagging.