WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge has approved a $10 million settlement requiring Disney to pay a civil penalty after regulators found the entertainment giant allowed personal data to be collected from children watching kid-focused videos on YouTube without proper parental notice or consent.
The settlement resolves allegations brought under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, known as COPPA, after the Federal Trade Commission referred the matter to the Department of Justice. A complaint filed in September accused Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC of failing to properly label certain videos as “Made for Kids,” a designation that triggers heightened privacy protections for viewers under age 13.
Federal officials said that by mislabeling some child-directed videos, Disney enabled YouTube to collect personal information from young viewers and use that data for targeted advertising, practices that are prohibited without verified parental consent.
Under the court-approved order finalized last week, Disney must pay a $10 million civil penalty and bring its practices into full compliance with COPPA. That includes notifying parents before collecting personal information from children under 13 and securing verifiable consent before that data is used.
The settlement also requires Disney to create and maintain a formal review program to determine whether videos it uploads to YouTube should be designated as Made for Kids. The requirement would remain in place unless YouTube adopts age-assurance technologies capable of determining users’ ages or stops allowing creators to self-designate content as kid-directed.
Regulators said the forward-looking provisions reflect growing concern about how children’s data is handled online and anticipate wider use of age-verification tools to protect minors on digital platforms.
The case adds to a series of enforcement actions targeting companies accused of sidestepping federal child privacy rules, as lawmakers and regulators intensify scrutiny of how major media and technology firms engage young audiences in an era of personalized advertising.
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