Credit: Inside The MagicThe Walt Disney Company is facing a new class action lawsuit that alleges one of its subsidiaries, ESPN, violated consumer privacy laws by knowingly tracking users without obtaining their consent. Here’s everything we learned from the legal filing.
Class-Action Lawsuit Against Disney and ESPN
On December 26, 2025, Saleha Abdullah filed a lawsuit in California federal court, alleging that ESPN.com employs user tracking technology that violates California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
The filing claims that the Disney-owned ESPN website collects data from consumers without their consent, including information about the user’s browser, device, screen resolution, operating system, and location. Often, that data is sold to third-party companies to create personalized and targeted advertisements, which then benefits ESPN.
The plaintiff claims that users didn’t consent to “the installation, execution, embedding or injection of the trackers on their devices” and that they “did not expect their behavioral data to be disclosed or monetized in this way.” The lawsuit argues that Disney and ESPN’s actions violate CIPA, which prohibits companies from gathering “routing, addressing or signaling information.”
Reuben D. Nathan of Nathan & Associates APC and Ross Cornell of the Law Offices of Ross Cornell APC are representing Abdullah in the class-action lawsuit against Disney and ESPN. The plaintiff’s team is seeking certification of the class action, as well as a jury trial, damages, fees, and costs associated with the legal proceedings.
Neither The Walt Disney Company nor its subsidiary, ESPN, has responded publicly to the class-action lawsuit filing.
How to Join
Millions of Golden State residents who accessed the Disney-owned ESPN website may be able to join this class-action lawsuit if it is certified in the California federal court.
What do you think about this lawsuit against Disney and ESPN? Inside the Magic would love to hear from you in the comments!