Disney is spending nearly $4.7 million on an Internet safety campaign for Club Penguin, an online game designed for young players.
Club Penguin cofounder Lane Merrifield discussed the initiative, which consists of advertising on television, magazines, and the Internet in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, during a keynote at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, England, according to The Guardian.
“From the very start, our vision for Club Penguin was to create a safe place for my kids and their friends to play online,” Merrifield said during his keynote. “The scale may now be bigger than I could ever have imagined, but that philosophy has not changed. Education is the final piece of the puzzle in terms of kids’ safety online … as an industry I think we can help teach kids the lessons that they need to become responsible digital citizens.”
Last month, another online social game targeted for children, Habbo, was besieged by controversy after allegations of sexual and perverse chats taking place inside the virtual world.
Players have created over 175 million accounts for Club Penguin since its launch in 2005.