Excerpt from GBHackers Article, Published on September 2, 2025
Disney has made headlines after agreeing to pay a staggering $10 million penalty to settle allegations of children’s data privacy violations brought by the United States Department of Justice. This settlement marks a watershed moment for digital content providers, highlighting the critical importance of safeguarding children’s personal data in the era of online entertainment.
The lawsuit centered on Disney’s operations of over 1,250 child-focused YouTube channels. According to the DOJ, Disney incorrectly designated these channels as “Not Made for Kids,” allowing YouTube to collect persistent identifiers and display targeted ads to young viewers. Federal law mandates that platforms serving children under 13 must deactivate personalized ads and refrain from harvesting personal data without verifiable parental consent. Disney’s oversight enabled hundreds of thousands of interest-based ad impressions across beloved brands such as Pixar, Disney Plus, and Disney Animation Studios, thus violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and the FTC Act.
The complaint revealed that YouTube had issued clear warnings to Disney, urging content to be classified correctly so child-directed videos would receive the necessary privacy protections. Despite these warnings, Disney persisted in defaulting channel-level designations, leading to systematic non-compliance. The settlement, one of the largest ever for COPPA violations, requires Disney to implement robust measures: accurate audience classification, thorough staff training on privacy requirements, regular FTC compliance reporting, and a verified parental consent process.
With the fine payable to the U.S. Treasury, this enforcement action sends a message that even the largest media organizations cannot neglect children’s data privacy. Disney’s case also establishes a precedent for digital media compliance and parental protections moving forward.
To delve deeper into this topic, read the original GBHackers article.
