Disney to Pay $10 Million Penalty for Alleged Illegal Targeting of Children
It turns out even Disney’s “magic” has legal — and costly — limits.
The Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs announced in a news release Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with the entertainment giant over alleged violations of federal children’s privacy law.
Under an order entered by a federal court, Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC — collectively referred to as “Disney” — will pay $10 million in civil penalties.
The settlement stems from allegations that Disney violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, commonly known as COPPA.
According to the Justice Department, the violations involved Disney’s handling of data connected to popular video content that’s distributed on YouTube and widely viewed by children.
A complaint filed in a California federal court by the DOJ alleged that Disney failed to properly designate certain YouTube videos as content directed at children, the news release states.
Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle Children’s Privacy Case https://t.co/Evru1h35ax
— WSJ Business News (@WSJbusiness) December 30, 2025
Because of that failure, the news release states, Disney collected data from young viewers and served them targeted advertisements without first providing notice to parents or obtaining required parental consent.
The issue is especially significant given Disney’s reach.
Its YouTube videos attract billions of views in the United States, the DOJ news release states, meaning the alleged violations could have affected a massive number of children and families.
“The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their children’s information is collected and used,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in the release.
“The Department will take swift action to root out any unlawful infringement on parents’ rights to protect their children’s privacy.”
Beyond the $10 million fine, the settlement places clear limits on how Disney can operate on YouTube in the future.
The agreement bars the company from running YouTube content in any way that violates federal children’s privacy law and requires Disney to implement a compliance program designed to ensure it follows COPPA rules, according to the release.
Taken together, the case is a reminder that scale and brand power don’t excuse basic legal responsibilities. Disney’s content reaches millions of children, and with that reach comes an obligation to play by the rules meant to protect young viewers — not quietly sidestep them for convenience or profit.
For a company built on family-friendly imagery, the settlement lands as an uncomfortable reckoning.
The message from regulators is clear: When it comes to children’s privacy, even the most powerful entertainment empire’s “magic” has clear and well-defined limits.
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