Child social media stars have few protections

CHICAGO — Holed up at home during the pandemic lockdown three years ago, 13-yearold Shreya Nallamothu was scrolling through social media when she noticed a pattern: Children even younger than her were the stars — dancing, cracking one-liners and being generally adorable.

“It seemed innocuous to me at first,” Nallamothu said.

But as she watched more and more posts of kids pushing products or their mishaps going viral, she started to wonder: Who is looking out for them?

“I realized that there's a lot of exploitation that can happen within the world of 'kidfluencing,"” said Nallamothu, referring to the monetization of social media content featuring children. “And I realized that there was absolutely zero legislation in place to protect them.”

Illinois lawmakers aim to change that by making their state what they say will be the first in the country to create protections for child social media influencers. Nallamothu, now 15, raised her concerns to Illinois state Sen. David Koehler of Peoria, who then set the legislation in motion.

The Illinois bill would entitle child influencers under the age of 16 to a percentage of earnings based on how often they appear on video blogs or online content that generates at least 10 cents per view. To qualify, the content must be created in Illinois, and kids would have to be featured in at least 30% of the content in a 30-day-period.

Video bloggers — or vloggers — would be responsible for maintaining records of kids' appearances and must set aside gross earnings for the child in a trust account for when they turn 18, otherwise the child can sue.

Family-style vlogs can feature children as early as birth and recount milestones and family events — the wholesome clips that Nallamothu had been initially scrolling through.

But experts say the commercialized “sharenthood” industry, which can earn content creators tens of thousands of dollars per brand deal, is underregulated and can even cause harm.

“As we see influencers and content creators becoming more and more of a viable career path for young people, we have to remember that this is a place where the law has not caught up to practice,” said Jessica Maddox, a University of Alabama professor who studies social media platforms.

She added that child influencers “are in desperate need of the same protections that have been afforded to other child workers and entertainers.”

The Illinois bill is modeled largely after California's 1939 Jackie Coogan law, named for the silent film-era child actor who sued his parents for squandering his earnings. Coogan laws now exist in several states and require parents to set aside a portion of child entertainers' earnings for when they reach adulthood.

Other states have tried to pass laws to regulate against potential child exploitation on social media without success. A 2018 California child labour bill included a social media advertising provision that was removed by the time it was passed, and Washington's 2023 bill stalled in committee.

Nallamothu emphasized that the Illinois bill isn't aimed at “parents posting their kids on Facebook for their close family and friends,” or even a funny clip that went viral.

Many social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — don't allow children to have accounts until they're at least 13 years old.

In 2019, an Arizona mother was accused of torturing her seven adopted children for subpar performances in their popular YouTube series, Fantastic Adventures; a Maryland couple who posted “prank” videos of themselves screaming at their children and breaking their toys lost custody and were sentenced to five years of probation for child neglect.

Another YouTube couple filmed every step of their family's process of adopting a young child from China with autism, only to eventually place him in a new home.

Chris McCarty, an 18-year-old college student who founded Quit Clicking Kids, an advocacy organization focused on protecting minors being monetized online, and who was the force behind the bill in Washington, noted that "this issue is not going away."

“Once these kids start growing up, the true extent of the damage inflicted by monetized family channels will be realized,” McCarty said at a hearing for the Washington bill in February.