NEW YORK (WP) - The Walt Disney Co. secretly collects personal information on some of their youngest customers and shares that data illegally with advertisers without parental consent, according to a federal lawsuit filed late last week in California.

The class-action suit targets Disney and three software companies, alleging that the mobile apps gather insights about users across the Internet, including those under age 13, in ways that facilitate "commercial exploitation".

The plaintiffs argue that Disney and its partners violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The lawsuit seeks an injunction barring the companies from collecting and disclosing the data without parental consent, as well as punitive damages.

The lawsuit alleges that Disney allowed the software companies to embed trackers in apps such as Disney Princess Palace Pets and Where's My Water? 2.

Disney said the lawsuit is misguided and intends to defend it in court.

Many of its gaming apps are immensely popular. According to the Google Play store, Where's my Water? 2 has been installed between 100 million and 500 million times.