A Security Company Used by Disney Is Being Investigated by the Federal Government

Disney World draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the parks, hotels, and Disney Springs every day — so it’s no wonder the House of Mouse would require that folks pass through security to get in.

Security at Disney World

You typically just have to walk through an advanced screening scanner device (basically a souped-up metal detector) that can detect whether or not people are bringing banned items into the parks. Disney doesn’t make these scanners, of course, instead purchasing them from different manufacturers. And, one of those companies is currently in some hot water with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC has taken action against Evolv Technologies, an AI gun detection company, for allegedly making “false claims about the extent to which its AI-powered security screening system can detect weapons and ignore harmless personal items.” The idea behind Evolv’s tech is that it is easily able to discern between weapons and regular, everyday items one might have in a bag.

New security process at Disneyland

And, Disney World is one of Evolv’s clients. According to emails obtained by Wired, it was this fact that convinced New York City Mayor Eric Adams to also test out the tech.

“As I mentioned, Linda Reid, VP Security for Walt Disney World (Florida) has known us since 2014 and deployed many of our systems at the Parks and Disney Springs,” wrote Evolv co-founder Anil Chitkara in an email to Adams’ office on February 7th, 2022. “They’ve had success screening for weapons with Evolv Express … There may be some interesting parallels to how you are thinking about everyone’s role in security.”

Security line

We even saw new Evolv scanners roll out at the Transportation and Ticket Center a few years back, and Disney has been expanding its use of this technology around the parks since then.

Magic Kingdom Security

But, the FTC claims that Evolv’s tech hasn’t been properly backed up.

“The FTC has been clear that claims about technology – including artificial intelligence – need to be backed up, and that is especially important when these claims involve the safety of children,” Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, said. “If you make those claims without adequate support, you can expect to hear from the FTC.”

Ask a security guard for help

According to the FTC, Evolv “deceptively advertised” that its Express scanners would detect all weapons and made misleading claims that its AI-powered tech makes its systems “more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective than traditional metal detectors.”

In the proposed settlement order, Evolv would be banned from making further unsupported claims about its products’ ability to detect weapons using artificial intelligence. It would also give certain customers — mainly K-12 schools — the option to cancel their contracts, which are typically multi-year deals.

Security Screening at Disney Springs

As of now, Disney hasn’t made any statements regarding Evolv or plans to change any of the company’s security scanners that are still in use. We don’t anticipate this to have much of an impact on your upcoming visit — if at all — so you shouldn’t have to worry about any hiccups as far as the FTC actions are concerned.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest news from Disney World and more. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog so you don’t miss any important updates!

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