Recognizing growing concerns about the exploitation of juvenile ‘influencers’ on social media platforms, Illinois has approved the first law in the United States to protect children appearing in internet videos. The regulation will also make certain that these youthful influencers are adequately compensated.
According to CNN, the legislation was motivated by the activism of Shreya Nallamothu, a 16-year-old from Normal, Illinois.
How it all began
During the pandemic, the teen’s concern apparently arose while looking through social media. She noted an increase in the number of children in family vlogs. These videos made her “realize family vlogging is putting very private and intimate moments on the internet.”
This spurred her to write a letter to her state senator, Democrat Dave Koehler, encouraging him to explore protection legislation for these youngsters.
“The fact that these kids are either too young to grasp that or weren’t given the chance to grasp that is really sad,” says Nallamothu.
The rule of law
Last Monday, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker approved an amendment to the state’s Child Labor Law, influenced by her letter.
The new rule, among other things, allows teenagers up to the age of 18 to sue their parents if they were included in monetized social media videos and were not fairly compensated. These are the same privileges that child performers have.
The new regulation is modeled after the 1936 “Jackie Coogan’s Law,” which was intended to discourage parents from exploiting the profits of child actors.
Beginning July 1, 2024, Illinois parents will be required to put 50% of the earnings from a video’s content into a blocked trust fund for the child influencer.
The exact amount, however, will be determined by the length of time the youngster is featured in the film. For example, if a youngster features in 50% of a film, they will be entitled to 25% of the earnings. Similarly, for a video in which they have 100% participation, they will receive 50% of the earnings.
This restriction, however, only applies when a youngster appears on screen for more than 30% of the vlogs uploaded in a one-year period.
Talking to CNN, Senator Koehler said that they “understand that parents should receive compensation too because they have equity in this, but we don’t want to forget about the child.”
Why is such a law required?
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of YouTube parent vloggers and social media influencers that produce frequent videos in which they share personal details about their lives.
Although children frequently play important roles in these monetized movies, there is no legal necessity for parents to share video earnings with their children.
Similarly, kid influencer accounts that may earn up to $20,000 per post rarely help youngsters. Due to age limits on social networking networks, these profiles are administered by parents.
“We know that with the explosion of social media, parents are using it to monetize kids’ videos. If money is being made and nothing is set up for the children, it’s the same thing as a child actor,” said Koehler.
According to experts, this legislation “has been a long time coming.” Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor who studies social media influencer groups, hopes that other US states will follow Illinois’ lead.
She said, “Social media labor and careers are becoming increasingly common and viable forms of income, and it’s important that the law catches up with technology to ensure minors aren’t being exploited.”