Disney secretly tracked children using 42 apps and games, claims lawsuit

It has been accused of doing so without obtaining parental consent

The sign of Walt Disney Studios Park is seen at the entrance at Disneyland Paris ahead of the 25th anniversary of the park in Marne-la-Vallee, near Paris, France, March 21, 2017 (Reuters)

The Walt Disney Company has been accused of using 42 of its apps and games to illegally track children and violate their privacy.

The company is being sued for allegedly breaching the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), by collecting children’s information without their parents’ consent, and selling it on to third-party companies for targeted advertising.

Apps including Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story: Story Theater and Frozen Free Fall are all named in the lawsuit. The entire list is available at the bottom of this article.

The plaintiff who brought the case forward, a San Francisco resident called Amanda Rushing, claims 42 of Disney’s apps contain software designed to collect data than can be used to “detect a child’s activity across multiple apps and platforms on the Internet, and across different devices, effectively providing a full chronology of the child’s actions across devices and apps.”

Disney developed the apps alongside three software companies: Upsight, Unity and Kochava.

The lawsuit calls for Disney to stop tracking and sharing data without parental consent, destroy any information it has allegedly already collected by these means, and pay up damages and legal fees.

Disney, however, has said it’s “looking forward” to defending itself.

“Disney has a robust COPPA compliance program, and we maintain strict data collection and use policies for Disney apps created for children and families,” it told the Business Journals.

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

COPPA is a law that requires companies to obtain parents’ permission before using apps to collect data from children under the age of 13.

The Disney apps and games named in the lawsuit are as follows:

• AvengersNet
• Beauty and the Beast
• Perfect Match
• Cars Lightning 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
• Zootopia Crime Files: Hidden Object