Lawsuit accuses Disney of spying on children through 42 gaming apps

This is not the first time Disney has been accused of violating Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

The Walt Disney Company is facing a class-action lawsuit in US for allegedly collecting children’s personal information through dozens of gaming apps and selling that data to advertisers without parental consent.

A federal class action lawsuit filed last week in California alleges that Disney has violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which requires companies designing apps for children under the age of 13 to obtain consent from parents before collecting children’s personal information.



The lawsuit, which targets Disney along with three software companies — Upsight, Unity, and Kochava — maintains that the mobile apps created for children by these companies contained embedded software to track, collect, and then export their personal information along with information about their online behaviour. The lawsuit alleged as many as 42 Disney apps contain tracking technology.

Amanda Rushing, the petitioner from San Francisco, claimed that she was unaware that the app Disney Princess Palace Pets was collecting information about her child, and was selling that data was to third parties for ad targeting.



While praying for an injunction barring the defendants from tracking and sharing data collected without parental consent, the plaintiff is also seeking “appropriate relief, including actual and statutory damages and punitive damages,” in addition to all costs related to prosecuting the action.

Responding to the lawsuit Disney said:

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 complaint is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of COPPA principles, and we look forward to defending this action in court.”

This is not the first time Disney has been accused of violating COPPA. Earlier in 2011, the FTC levied a $3 million civil penalty against subsidiary Playdom after it illegally collected and disclosed personal information from “hundreds of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents’ prior consent.”



Here’s the list of all the Disney apps named in the lawsuit:

AvengersNet

Beauty and the Beast

Perfect Match

Cars Lightening League

Club Penguin Island

Color by Disney

Disney Color and Play

Disney Crossy Road

Disney Dream Treats

Disney Emoji Blitz

Disney Gif

Disney Jigsaw Puzzle!

Disney LOL

Disney Princess: Story Theater

Disney Store Become

Disney Story Central

Disney Magic Timer

Disney Princess: Charmed Adventures

Dodo Pop

Disney Build It Frozen

DuckTales: Remastered

Frozen Free Fall

Frozen Free Fall: Icy Shot

Good Dinosaur Storybook Deluxe

Inside Out Thought Bubbles

Maleficent Free Fall

Miles from Tomorrowland: Missions

Moana Island Life

Olaf's Adventures

Palace Pets in Whisker Haven

Sofia the First Color and Play

Sofia the First Secret Library

Star Wars: Puzzle DroidsTM

Star WarsTM: Commander

Temple Run: Oz

Temple Run: Brave

The Lion Guard

Toy Story: Story Theater

Where's My Mickey?

Where’s My Water? (paid, lite, and free)

Where's My Water? 2

This article originally appeared on The Verge