A settled civil suit in California has laid the groundwork to make it more difficult for Disney to harbor customers’ personal data. According to Deadline, California’s district attorney pivoted Bob Iger’s company into forking over a $2.75 million payout for alleged mishandling of Disney+ users’ information, and a confusing opt-out process across its streaming platforms.
In the 10-page settlement, Superior Court Jude Daniel Crawley exclaimed, “Defendants shall stop SELLING and SHARING CONSUMER’S PERSONAL INFORMATION and shall stop conducting CROSS-CONTEXT BEHAVIORAL ADVERTISING for that CONSUMER.” via Deadline.
Deadline writes Crawley continued: “DEFENDANTS shall provide CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS notice to CONSUMERS in connection with DISNEY SERVICES that DEFENDANTS conduct CROSS CONTEXT BEHAVIORAL ADVERTISING using PERSONAL INFORMATION obtained from THIRD PARTIES,” the final judgement and permanent injunction states. “Such notice shall be in a manner that provides CONSUMERS a meaningful understanding of the information being collected, the categories of sources from which the PERSONAL INFORMATION is collected, and that directs CONSUMERS to DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF RIGHT TO OPT-OUT OF SALE/SHARING.”
The settlement is the result of a two-year investigation into various streamers’ alleged violations of California’s Consumer Privacy Act. Attorney General Rob Bonta has brought both Disney and Sling TV to heel. Deadline reports more companies could be next as “other streaming services are currently under investigation.”
A Disney released a response to Deadline, stating, “As an industry leader in privacy protection, Disney continues to invest significant resources to set the standard for responsible and transparent data practices across our streaming services,” the company said. “As technology and media continue to evolve, protecting the privacy and preserving the experience of Californians and fans everywhere remains a longstanding priority for Disney.”
AG Bonta did not hold back in his stance of today’s verdict.
“Consumers shouldn’t have to go to infinity and beyond to assert their privacy rights,” the Bonta said via Deadline. “Today, my office secured the largest settlement to date under the CCPA over Disney’s failure to stop selling and sharing the data of consumers that explicitly asked it to.” He continued: “California’s nation-leading privacy law is clear: A consumer’s opt-out right applies wherever and however a business sells data — businesses can’t force people to go device-by-device or service-by-service. In California, asking a business to stop selling your data should not be complicated or cumbersome. My office is committed to the continued enforcement of this critical privacy law.”