Big news shaking up the digital world: Disney is facing a hefty penalty for how they handled children’s data on YouTube. The entertainment giant has agreed to pay $10 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because they weren’t following the rules when it came to collecting personal information from kids under 13. This all went down because many of their YouTube videos aimed at children weren’t properly marked as “Made for Kids.”
The issue centers around the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires parental consent for data collection on these platforms. When Disney didn’t correctly label its child-directed videos, it allowed YouTube to gather data and serve targeted ads to younger audiences without that crucial consent. From 2020 onwards, Disney uploaded thousands of videos across over 1,250 YouTube channels, featuring beloved brands like Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. Many of these, despite being intended for children, were mislabeled as “Not Made for Kids.” Even though YouTube flagged these violations back in 2020 and made some changes, Disney’s default channel settings continued to cause ongoing mislabeling. This situation highlights the constant need for companies to be vigilant about data privacy, especially when it involves our children. We’ll be keeping an eye on how Disney navigates these new compliance measures, and you can find more discussions on this topic by searching for Disney on Facebook.
The settlement requires Disney not only to pay the $10 million fine but also to put in place strong compliance measures. This includes diligently reviewing every video they upload to YouTube to ensure it has the correct COPPA designation, unless YouTube implements more robust age verification technology. On top of that, Disney will need to inform parents and get their explicit consent before collecting any children’s data going forward. This significant enforcement action by the FTC is a clear message about the importance of protecting children’s privacy in the digital age, reminding us all that our engagement with these platforms comes with responsibilities, especially when it concerns the next generation.
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Disclaimer:
For Education and discussion purposes. Please note no copyright infringement is intended, was recorded on BlkCosmo’s own equipment, and we do not own nor claim to own any of the original recordings used in this video and intend to use this as ‘fair use’.
