Is Disney+ ethical?

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Privacy & surveillance Settlement

Walt Disney Co. settles for $2.75 million over CCPA privacy violations

Walt Disney Co. pays $2.75 million to settle allegations it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act by failing to comply with consumer requests to opt out of data sharing.

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finance.yahoo.com
Walt Disney Co. will pay $2.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act by not fully complying with consumers' requests to opt out of data sharing on its streaming services, the state attorney general's office said Wednesday.
oag.ca.gov
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a settlement with the Walt Disney Company (Disney), resolving allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by failing to fully effectuate consumers’ requests to opt-out of the sale or sharing of their data across all devices and streaming services associated with consumers' Disney accounts.
latimes.com
Walt Disney Co. will pay $2.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act by not fully complying with consumers’ requests to opt out of data sharing on its streaming services, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday.
law.com
The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay a record $2.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act, a groundbreaking measure passed by the state's Legislature in 2018 that gives consumers more control over the information businesses collect on them.

Workplace equity Settlement

Disney settles pay inequity claims with $43 million payout

Disney settled a pay inequity class action from female employees with a $43 million payout.

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deadline.com
Less than a year since Disney finally settled a pay inequity class action from female employees with a $43 million payout, the company now is facing similar claims in a new suit from one of its former top lawyers.
Disney Sued By Former Top Lawyer For Discrimination & Retaliation

Privacy & surveillance Settlement

Disney settles privacy violations with $2.75 million

Disney settled privacy violations by paying $2.75 million and implementing opt-out methods to stop the sale or sharing of consumers' personal information.

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oag.ca.gov
California Won't Let It Go: Attorney General Bonta Announces $2.75 Million Settlement with Disney, Largest CCPA Settlement in California History | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
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,” said Attorney General Bonta.
Under today’s settlement, Disney must pay $2.75 million in civil penalties and must implement opt-out methods that fully stop Disney’s sale or sharing of consumers’ personal information.

Corporate conduct Allegation

Walt Disney Co. is accused of use of facial recognition technology

Walt Disney Co. is accused of using facial recognition technology, alleging violations of privacy, competition, and consumer protection laws.

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yahoo.com
A class action lawsuit was filed against The Walt Disney Co. over its use of facial recognition technology, alleging violations of privacy, competition, and consumer protection laws.

Corporate conduct Allegation

Disney is accused of raising streaming prices

Disney is accused of engaging in various forms of conduct to raise the prices of Streaming Live Pay Television.

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thehill.com
They accused Disney of “engaging in various forms of conduct to raise the prices of Streaming Live Pay Television.”

Corporate conduct Allegation

Disney+ is accused of concealing true costs

Disney+ is accused of concealing true costs incurred in connection with its service by debuting content intended for Disney+.

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deadline.com
(b) that the true costs incurred in connection with Disney+ had been concealed by Disney executives by debuting certain content intended for Disney+ initially on Disney’s legacy distribution channels and then making the shows available on Disney+ thereafter in order to improperly shift costs out of the Disney+ segment;
(b) that the true costs incurred in connection with Disney+ had been concealed by Disney executives by debuting certain content intended for Disney+
Furthermore, the 2022 Proxy was false and misleading because it failed to disclose the following adverse facts pertaining to the Company’s business, operations, and financial condition, which were known to or recklessly disregarded by Defendants as follows: (a) that Disney+ was suffering decelerating subscriber growth, losses, and cost overruns; (b) that the true costs incurred in connection with Disney+ had been concealed by Disney executives by debuting certain content intended for Disney+ initially on Disney’s legacy distribution channe ls and then making the shows available on Disney+ thereafter in order to improperly shift costs out of the Disney+ segment; (c) that DMED had made platform distribution decisions based not on consumer preference, consumer behavior, or the desire to maximize the size of the audience for the content as represented, but based on the desire to hide the full costs of building Disney+’s content library; (d) that the Company was not on track to achieve its 2024 Disney+ paid global subscriber and profitability targets, t hat such targets were not achievable, and that such estimates lacked a reasonable basis in fact; and (e) that, as a result of (a)-(d) above, defendants had materially misrepresented the actual performance of Disney+, the sustainability of Disney+’s historical growth trends, the profitability of Disney+, and the likelihood that Disney could achieve its 2024 Disney+ subscriber and profitability targets.
nypost.com
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Mouse House faces an identical investor suit over an alleged “cost-shifting scheme” in its streaming division and claims that it obstructed a deal between TSG Entertainment Finance and 20th Century Studios, which Disney owns, to “prop up” Disney+ and juice its stock price.
Disney sued over 'fraudulent scheme' to hide streaming losses
yahoo.com
Disney Slapped With Investor Lawsuit for Allegedly ‘Concealing the True Costs’ of Disney+ Under Bob Chapek

Climate & energy Confirmed

Walt Disney violates water pollution rules

Walt Disney World violated EPA water pollution levels and could face up to $25,000 in daily fines.

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orlandosentinel.com
Walt Disney World for years has violated water pollution levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency and could face fines of as much as $25,000 a day because the problem has worsened since June.

Corporate conduct Allegation

Disney accused of anticompetitive agreements

Disney is accused of entering anticompetitive agreements with direct competitors in the streaming live pay television market.

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cleveland.com
“This is an antitrust lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company (‘Disney’) to remediate and recover for Disney’s anticompetitive agreements with direct competitors in the market for streaming live pay television (’SLPTV’) — live television streamed over the Internet to pay subscribers,” court documents reads.

Workplace equity Confirmed

Disney ends discriminatory initiatives

Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name.

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usatoday.com
"I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name," Carr wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

Corporate conduct Settlement

The Walt Disney Company settles for $50 million

The Walt Disney Company settled a class action lawsuit alleging violations of federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.

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finance.yahoo.com
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action suit (1) from 2022. That could mean some money is coming your way. The case revolves around allegations that Disney entered into "anticompetitive agreements with YouTube TV" and other live-streaming services that resulted in subscription price increases from over-the-top live TV services.
nj1015.com
The Walt Disney Company, a federal antitrust lawsuit filed back in 2022 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
qz.com
The Walt Disney $DIS Company agreed to pay $50 million to settle a federal antitrust class action lawsuit alleging it drove up subscription prices for YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, though the company denied any wrongdoing.
time.com
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to a $50 million settlement in a class action lawsuit that alleged the media giant violated federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.

Workplace equity Confirmed

Disney's operations comply with anti-discrimination rules

Disney's regulated operations are subject to FCC equal employment opportunity rules that prohibit discrimination on race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender.

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fcc.gov
As you may know, the Communications Act and Commission rules prohibit regulated entities like Disney’s ABC from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender.1 Indeed, the FCC’s longstanding equal employment opportunity or EEO rules set forth specific requirements to which Disney’s regulated operations must adhere.2

Corporate conduct Confirmed

SEC institutes cease-and-desist against The Walt Disney Company

The Securities and Exchange Commission instituted a cease-and-desist proceeding against The Walt Disney Company.

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sec.gov
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate that public cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") against The Walt Disney Company ("Disney" or "Respondent").

Media & the press Settlement

Disney settlement over defamation

Last month, Disney settled a Trump defamation suit against ABC News by agreeing to pay $15 million to an as-yet non-existent Trump foundation and $1 million toward his legal fees.

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npr.org
Last month, Disney settled a Trump defamation suit against ABC News by agreeing to pay $15 million to an as-yet non-existent Trump foundation and $1 million toward his legal fees.

Privacy & surveillance Settlement

Walt Disney Co settlement over privacy violations

A federal judge approved an order requiring Walt Disney Co. to pay $10 million to settle allegations the company allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required, according to court papers.

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cnbc.com
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay a $10 million civil ⁠penalty as part of a settlement to resolve allegations it violated ‍child privacy laws, the ‍Justice Department ‍said on Tuesday.
independent.co.uk
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over its violating of children’s privacy. The suit was brought by the Federal Trade Commission, which accused the entertainment giant of violating children’s privacy laws through its YouTube content.
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over its violating of children’s privacy.
latimes.com
The Walt Disney Co. has settled claims that it violated child privacy laws, said the U.S. Department of Justice, with a federal court entering a stipulated order resolving the case, on Tuesday. The company agreed to pay $10 million in the case in September.
ocregister.com
A federal judge approved an order requiring Walt Disney Co. to pay $10 million to settle allegations the company allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required, according to court papers.