Part 2/10:
At the heart of the controversy lies Disney’s mishandling of the labeling of thousands of videos across its numerous YouTube channels—including Pixar, Disney+, Walt Disney Studios, and Disney on Ice. The FTC accused Disney of failing to properly mark videos as "made for kids" when they clearly should have been categorized as such. This misclassification allowed YouTube’s algorithms to treat these videos as suitable for children in a manner that enabled the collection of personal data and the deployment of targeted ads.
How YouTube’s Content Labeling Works
When creators upload videos to YouTube, they are prompted to answer questions about whether their content is directed at children. Specifically, creators must decide:
- Is this video made for kids? (Yes/No)