Disney is being sued by a group of people who claim that some of their gaming applications collect personal information from young players and share it illegally with other advertisers. For its part, the company is ready to resolve the case in court.
According to a Washington Post report, Disney and technology companies Upsight, Unity, and Kochava, will have to go to court because of this lawsuit. The plaintiffs alleged that Disney is violating the Children’s Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which, as the name implies, protects the privacy of minors when they browse the Internet or use online applications.
Thus, the plaintiffs seek a court order that prevents Disney, one of its partners, or the rest of the companies from disclosing information about the children without the consent of the parents. In addition, they hope to collect punitive damages, among other legal charges.
In this regard, a Disney representative told The Washington Post that the lawsuit is based on a misunderstanding. “Disney has a robust COPPA compliance program, and we maintain strict data collection and use policies for Disney apps created for children and families,” the company said. “The complaint is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of COPPA principles, and we look forward to defending this action in Court.”
According to the lawsuit, the games that violate COPPA are Disney Princess Palace Pets and Where’s My Water 2, applications that, according to the plaintiffs, have a code that allows Disney to “exfiltrate that information off the smart device for advertising and other commercial purposes.”
For now, we will have to wait until this case is developed to obtain new details.
