Disney Wants A Huggable Robot That Can Interact With Children
People are comparing the idea to HBO's "Westworld" ... except Disney's concept could be real.
LEARN MOREPeople Are Concerned Disney Apps Are Tracking Children
A legal complaint alleges Disney is violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, or COPPA.
People Are Concerned Disney Apps Are Tracking Children
Disney
August 5, 2017
Disney has dozens of apps for kids across multiple platforms, but some of those apps might lead to a class-action lawsuit.
On Thursday, a concerned parent filed a complaint against the company for tracking kids' personal information and selling it to third parties. The specific app in question is "Disney Princess Palace Pets," but the complaint also says other Disney games, including "Dodo Pop" and "Club Penguin Island," are tracking children as well.
The legal complaint alleges Disney is violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule — or COPPA — which bans the collection of children's personal information without parental consent.
Disney has gotten in trouble over COPPA before. In 2011, company subsidiary Playdom Inc. — which developed online multiplayer games like "PonyStars" and "My Diva Doll" — was accused of collecting and disclosing the personal information of children. Between 2006 and 2010, "PonyStars" alone had over 800,000 users.
Playdom paid a $3 million civil penalty to settle the charges, but the trouble didn't stop there.
In 2013, the Center for Digital Democracy accused Disney's MarvelKids.com of similar COPPA violations.
This problem of online privacy and information mining goes beyond Disney.
Researchers at Virginia Tech screened over 100,000 apps on the Google Play marketplace. They found that thousands of them communicate with each other and share personal information mined from users.
One of the researchers said, "App security is a little like the Wild West right now with few regulations."
Romance scams becoming more common as stigma around reporting remains
Romance scams are the type of scam that people lose the most money to, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
By Shutterstock1:07
US infiltrates big ransomware gang: 'We hacked the hackers'
Officials said the targeted syndicate, known as Hive, is among the world's top five ransomware networks and has heavily targeted health care.
By Jose Luis Magana / APFormer AT&T customers still entitled to data throttling partial refund
AT&T settled with the FTC over allegations the company misled customers about their data speeds.
By APTop Stories
3:15
Rescuers scramble in Turkey, Syria after quake kills 3,400
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck a region transformed by Syria's 12-year war.
By AP3:26
Criminals now targeting zoo animals
The Dallas Zoo has dealt with a trend of vandalism and animal disappearances since January.
By Tony Gutierrez / AP4:10
This group starts its mornings with a frigid Lake Michigan swim
A group of Chicago swimmers say a dive into the cold Lake Michigan each morning helps their body and mind.
By Scripps News