Illinois law protects child internet content creators

PEORIA, Ill. – Illinois is the only state in the U.S. that guarantees child social media influencers get a slice of the profits their content makes.

Illinois’ law protecting child content creators gained national attention as more and more former child creators have begun to speak out about being taken advantage of financially by their parents, who often used their children to garner brand deals while the kids saw none of the reward.

Other states have proposed similar laws to Illinois including New York, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, Missouri, California, Arizona and Minnesota, according to Cosmopolitan Magazine.

In a recently published story by Cosmopolitan, former child content creators talked about the immense amount of pressure and mental trauma caused by being constantly put on camera by their parents. While the content was often lucrative for the adult, the child was left with nothing.

One former child influencer testified before legislators in Maryland, describing how being exploited on camera impacted her life.

“As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” influencer-turned-activist Cam Barrett told Maryland lawmakers. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.”

The Illinois law, Senate Bill 1782, came into existence, thanks in part to Democratic state Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria. He sponsored the bill to protect children in an industry valued at $21 billion.

Content creators under the age of 16, who meet a threshold of earning 10 cents per view on social media for themselves or their parents, qualify for compensation protections under the law. It dictates that parents must set aside a trust fund for the child using the money made from social media content they can access when they are 18.

Illinois’ law came to pass when a 16year-old girl from Normal, Illinois, named Shreya Nallamothu reached out to Koehler about possibly creating legislation.

“Child influencing … is work at the end of the day,” Nallamothu told Teen Vogue. “It’s labor and they deserve to be compensated for their labor.”