Disney Fined Nearly $3M Over Deceptive 'Dark Patterns'

By SOS. News Desk | Feb 12, 2026

Disney will pay a record fine of nearly $3 million to settle with California's Attorney General over its streaming services' deliberately confusing data privacy controls, the largest penalty to date under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Let it go? Not so fast: The Attorney General's investigation zeroed in on what it called a deliberately confusing opt-out process that made it nearly impossible for users to stop their data from being sold. The state found that privacy toggles were often confined to a single device and webforms were ineffective, while Disney's connected TV apps offered no way to opt-out at all.
A costly habit: The settlement marks a troubling pattern for Disney, coming just months after the company paid a $10 million FTC fine in December for violating COPPA with its data collection on YouTube. The two penalties push Disney's privacy-related fines to nearly $13 million in less than six months.

The settlement puts a spotlight on the growing regulatory war against "dark patterns"—deceptive user interfaces designed to hinder consumer choice. With the California AG also probing other outlets, a detail first reported by Deadline, the move is a clear warning shot to the entire media industry.

Key Takeaways

Disney will pay a record fine of nearly $3 million to settle claims that its streaming services used deceptive "dark patterns" to violate California's privacy law.
California's investigation found Disney used a confusing opt-out process, with ineffective webforms and no opt-out option on its connected TV apps.
The settlement follows a recent $10 million FTC fine, bringing Disney's total privacy-related penalties to nearly $13 million in under six months.
The penalty signals a broader regulatory crackdown on deceptive user interfaces, with California's Attorney General reportedly investigating other media companies.