How a new law could change the world of influencer children

A revolutionary news State law protecting influencer children is now in place in Illinois, ensuring that children under 16 will be compensated for appearing on their parents' social media content.

On July 1, the state of Illinois officially approved an amendment to its existing child labor law that specifically states that children under the age of 16 are entitled to a share of the revenue from their adult guardians' video content, defined in the bill as ” content shared on an online platform in exchange for compensation.”

By law, if a child appears on at least 30 percent of a parent or caregiver's social media content over a 30-day period, the minor is entitled to monetary compensation. Adults must set these funds aside to be placed in a trust, which the minor can access when they turn 18. The law also allows children of influence to take action against parents who did not properly compensate them for their work, according to a statement from the office of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who undersigned the bill in August 2023.

Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), calls the Illinois bill a great “first step” in sparking a broader conversation about children online, privacy and financial exploitation. “We'd love to see it go through state capitols,” he says. “I wouldn't hold my breath for a federal law, but the fact that there are discussions in other states is very encouraging.”

The bill was inspired by a 16-year-old named Shreya Nallamothu, who was concerned about the impact family vlogs were having on minors. Nallamothu brought the idea for the bill to state Sen. David Koehler, who helped get it passed. “This new digital age has given us tremendous opportunities to connect with each other, but it has also presented legal issues that never existed before,” Koehler said in an August 2023 press release. release. “We need to work with our children to see the issues they are facing and address them head on before further harm is done.”

The legislation is a watershed moment for the massive family video industry, in which parent influencers monetize social media content their children share. The industry has sparked a backlash from critics who argue that children are not old enough to provide meaningful consent to appear on social media and that parents who profit from their images are effectively exploiting them. Many family vlogging channels are extremely profitable, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ad revenue.

There are currently laws in place to protect children in the mainstream entertainment industry from financial exploitation, such as the Coogan Act, named after child actress Jackie Coogan, which requires parents of minor performers to place a percentage of their earnings in a trust. But such laws have not kept pace with technological advances and the rise of the massive influencer industry, Ed Howard, senior counsel at the Child Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law, previously said. Rolling rock.

“For kids posting content online, there's nothing comparable to the kind of very specific protections against commercial exploitation that are similar to those afforded to actors doing the same things in traditional media,” Howard said.

Although Illinois is the first state in the country to enact such a law, other states, such as Maryland, California and Wisconsin, are Considering passage of similar legislation. Maryland has too was introduced a “right to be forgotten” bill for minors who want their content removed from the internet, which was referred to committee earlier this year. (Illinois law contains no such provision.)

Balkam would like to see future legislation go further, addressing privacy issues in addition to guaranteeing financial compensation for minors. “We were excited about Illinois, but we have to move on,” he says. “There are two aspects: making sure that children get some financial reward for putting up with their parents for many years, but I think there's a separate issue, which is their own privacy rights.” He hopes that such bills will prompt families to “seriously consider the implications of what it might mean for their 11-year-old or 14-year-old or 16-year-old child to be constantly on display to the rest of the world.”