Last week, Edward Markey, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, sent a public letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger questioning Disney’s future use of Magic Bands regarding concerns over privacy. The letter asks seven questions (with several sub-questions) about what types of information Disney plans to gather and what they plan to do with it, especially regarding children and teens.
Today, Disney CEO Bob Iger strongly responded to the letter. Among his comments:
We are offended by the ludicrous and utterly ill-informed assertion in your letter dated January 24, 2013, that we would in any way haphazardly or recklessly introduce a program that manipulates children, or wantonly puts their safety at risk.
It is truly unfortunate and extremely disappointing that you chose to publicly attack us before taking the time to review our policies and/or contact us for information, which would have obviated the need for your letter. Had you or your staff made the slightest effort, you would have found most of the answers to your questions already existed and were publicly available online at http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/pp.html and https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/privacy-policy/
What’s interesting is despite the existing URLs Iger points to, much of the original New York Times article was spent on privacy concerns. Even with this letter and Disney’s statd policies, this likely isn’t an issue that will go away soon.