Settlement over mislabeled YouTube content
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims that it violated children’s privacy laws by failing to properly label some YouTube videos as made for children. The alleged mislabeling allowed targeted advertising to be served and enabled the collection of children’s personal data without parental notice or consent.
The settlement follows an investigation into Disney’s handling of children’s data on YouTube and was initially agreed in September.
Regulatory findings and legal framework
Regulators argued that Disney’s failure to correctly identify certain videos as child directed resulted in children receiving targeted advertising and having their data collected in breach of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The law requires content creators targeting children under 13 to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting personal information.
The agreement involves Disney Worldwide Services Inc and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC and applies only to the distribution of some Disney content on YouTube. It does not cover Disney owned or operated digital platforms.
Compliance measures and government response
As part of the settlement, Disney has also agreed to establish a compliance program to ensure adherence to children’s data protection rules. The Department of Justice said the measures are intended to reinforce parental control over how children’s information is collected and used.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed that the company has accepted the terms previously announced.
Background to the investigation
Following a 2019 settlement between regulators and YouTube’s parent company, Google, content creators were required to label videos directed at children. The rule was designed to prevent targeted advertising and data collection on children’s content.
Regulators claimed Disney did not properly label some videos, many uploaded during the Covid 19 pandemic, despite being aware of the issue as early as June 2020. According to legal filings, YouTube later changed the labels on more than 300 Disney videos, including content related to The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Frozen.
Scale of Disney’s YouTube activity
Since 2020, Disney has uploaded videos to more than 1,250 YouTube channels through several subsidiaries. Many of these videos attracted large audiences, with viewership rising sharply during the early months of the pandemic.
Government lawyers argued that the alleged misclassification led to YouTube collecting personal information and placing targeted advertisements on child directed videos on Disney’s behalf.
