Telha
This amendment to the Child Labor Law, effective July 1, ensures that children under 16 who appear in at least 30% of their guardians’ social media posts over a 30-day period are entitled to a portion of the revenue.
Content creators on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other short-form video sites must allocate a portion of their earnings to a trust account, which the child can access upon turning 18.
Additionally, the law permits young social media stars to take legal action if their guardians fail to compensate them appropriately. This was outlined in a statement from the office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who signed the bill into law in August 2023. Illinois leads the nation with this legislation, but states like Maryland, California, and Wisconsin are also considering similar measures.
Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), praised the bill as a significant “first step” in addressing issues of minors’ online presence, privacy, and financial exploitation. “We would love to see it pass throughout the state capitols,” he said, per Rolling Stone. “I would not hold my breath for a federal law, but the fact that discussions are happening in other states is very encouraging.”
The bill was championed by Shreya Nallamothu, a 16-year-old who raised the issue with local legislators, including State Sen. David Koehler. Nallamothu, speaking to Good Morning America, said she “kept seeing cases of exploitation” during her research on the subject.
“Especially for very young children who maybe don’t understand what talking to a camera means and they’re not able to conceptualize what a million people looks like, they don’t understand what they’re putting out into the internet for profit and that it’s not going to be able to go away and that their parents are making money off of it,” she said.
Koehler acknowledged the unique challenges of the digital age: “This new digital age has given us tremendous opportunities to connect with one another, but it’s also presented legal issues that have never existed before,” as cited by Rolling Stone.
“We need to work with our children to see the problems they face and tackle them head-on before any further harm is done,” he added.
