Underage influencers are protected by new law.

Illinois is the first state to pass legislation on child influencers, and others could soon follow.

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Evoking debates from days where child actors had little protections, the digital age is revealing a need for similar types of oversight.

Who are they? Child influencers are the kids you might see featured on any type of social media content that stands to make a profit.

• This includes videos of children on family YouTube channels or TikToks and sponsored posts on Instagram. Sometimes, the children are the stars of their own accounts.
• This comes as conversation grows online about whether children can consent to their photos or videos being posted or not and how parents oversharing photos or videos – a practice referred to as “sharenting” – might violate a child’s privacy.
• This has already fueled similar legislation in France that aims to protect child influencers and ensure they see a fair percentage of their earnings. 

What’s the big deal? Lawmakers in Illinois have taken notice, and passed the first legislation of its kind in the country to make sure that the children being featured in any online content will be guaranteed a chunk of the profits.

• What originally began as a school project for teenager Shreya Nallamothu became an investigation into the lack of protection for child influencers across the United States. After receiving encouragement from her teacher to share her findings with her state senator, Nallamothu’s research helped fuel the legislation.
• The law, which is an amendment to the state’s existing child labor laws, entitles child influencers to a percentage of the earnings made from the content they’re featured in, and held in a trust until they turn 18.

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