Disney Falsely Accuses Child of Hacking

No dad likes for his son to be falsely accused of something he didn't do. But what if the accusations continue, even after the dad has pointed out the accuser's mistake? And what if the accuser is Disney?

My son is a huge fan of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online video game.  He is such a big fan that he created a video game review web site, CarsonReviews.com, where he promotes the game and explains his passion.  He recruits his friends at school to sign up and play.  He even pays $10/month from his allowance to Disney in order to play the game, even though this pretty much wipes out most of his allowance. One would think that Disney Online might appreciate this free publicity from a loyal, enthusiastic customer.

Instead, Disney has falsely accused my 11 year old son of hacking the online game, and Disney temporarily banned his account.  They sent him a curt e-mail lecturing him about something he didn't even do.

While I don't agree with the tone that Disney took towards my fifth grade son, I can see how at first glance, they might have misinterpreted his chat logs.  Another user had made my son aware of a "glitch" (that's what the other player called it) that allowed users to rapid fire their cannons.

My son was of course excited to learn about this "glitch" (who doesn't want rapid fire?), and he assumed it was some special keystrokes to take advantage of this "glitch."  But when he Googled how to use this feature, he discovered that it might require changing some files on the computer.  My son recognized that this would be a bad idea, so he asked for clarification that changing files would indeed be required.  If changing files would be required, then he would give up on the idea of gaining access to "the glitch."

The supposedly incriminating logs that Disney references show my son asking for clarification:

• November 27, 2009 9:35:16 PM PST : when i searched it on the internet it said that i had to hack into some files, is this true?
  
• November 27, 2009 9:37:33 PM PST : so when i looked it up it said i had to hack into some files to do it, is this true?
  
• November 27, 2009 9:38:45 PM PST : i searched the glitch up on the internet
  
• November 27, 2009 9:39:06 PM PST : it said i had to hack into some files to do the glitch, is this true?
  
• November 27, 2009 9:41:22 PM PST : like i have to go in some files and change them?

The logs above clearly show my son asking if this would be true that he would have to change some files in order to gain access to this feature.  He had no interest in (nor the skill to) actually make these changes. He simply wanted clarification that implementing "the glitch" was not going to be possible for him.

But Disney interpreted the above logs as an admission of "the use of third-party software, shown in the logs [above]."

When we received the curt e-mail from Disney stating that his account was banned due to using third-party software to modify the game (which is not at all true), I replied to Disney explaining that my son neither used any third-party software nor modified any files associated with the game. He was simply confirming that he would not be able to take advantage of the "glitch."  I also explained to Disney that its e-mail had hurt my son's feelings with the curt false accusation, when all he is trying to do is have fun playing the game.

I asked Disney to re-read the logs they referenced, so that they could see that he was just inquiring whether or not the other user's suggestion would require a hack, which of course, my son would not do.

The next day, I received this reply from Tony with Disney Online Member Services:

"As a family-friendly Company, all in-game chat is moderated equally for everyone regardless of age to maintain a friendly and safe online environment for all to enjoy. In regards to your account, the use or distribution of any software or device that allows automated or other manipulation of gameplay is not allowed. Such use may result in the termination of your account."

Tony either didn't read my message or didn't care, since his canned reply didn't at all address my message.

I have responded to Tony again clarifying that Disney's false accusation is not appropriate, and I am asking that Disney apologize to my son for abruptly banning his account and treating him like he did something wrong.  While adults are used to the occassional poor customer service, an 11 year old boy shouldn't have to put up with continued false accusations from a company with the stature of Disney.

When you market and sell products and services to children, you have an extra responsibility to be competent in your communications with those children.  Attacking an 11 year old with false accusations is not appropriate nor acceptable.  Disney has some work to do.

I'll update this blog post with the final outcome: hopefully, a prompt apology from Disney, so that my son can continue enjoying and promoting the game.  In the meantime, I remain very disappointed with Disney.