When people hear the name Disney, chances are they immediately think of children. That is what the company is all about, making kids dreams come to life. The words ‘Disney lawsuit’ are two words you would not associate with each other. That’s why it is shocking to hear that the company behind “the happiest place on Earth” is being sued for illegally spying on children through their apps and sending the personal information they collect to advertisers.

The company has denied that anything illegal has occurred and will be defending itself in court to prove it. The Disney lawsuit isn’t just against them though, tech companies Unity, Upsight, and Kochava are also on the defendants list. According to the plaintiffs, these companies are violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. COPPA protects minors privacy when using online services and the plaintiffs are asking for an injunction that will prevent Disney and the others from giving away their kid’s private information without a parent’s permission. They are also asking for compensation for punitive damages and their legal fees.

In a statement, a spokesperson said this Disney lawsuit is all a “fundamental misunderstanding” of how the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act works.

“Disney has a robust COPPA compliance program, and we maintain strict data collection and use policies for Disney apps created for children and families. The complaint is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of COPPA principles, and we look forward to defending this action in Court.”

The lawsuit states that certain games have “trackers” in their coding that gives Disney and others the ability to “exfiltrate that information off the smart device for advertising and other commercial purposes.” This isn’t the first time a company has gotten in trouble for something like this. Back in 2014, developer TinyCo agreed to pay a $300,000 settlement after the FTC reported them for violating the COPPA.

What do you think of Disney being sued for violating children’s privacy? Let us know in the comment section below and to stay updated on this story and all the hottest gaming and entertainment news, follow DFTG on Twitter! Speaking of Disney, did you hear that Netflix is currently negotiating with them to keep Marvel and Star Wars movies on the streaming site? Read all about it here!