[US] Illinois’ new child influencer labour law

In Illinois, a new law intended to ensure that child social influencers receive fair compensation was praised when it was signed earlier this month. However, concerns have been raised that compliance could be a challenge in this new frontier of child labour law, Politico reports.

The law will allow child influencers to sue if there is a failure to set aside a portion of their earnings in a trust account. Modelled after similar laws for other child entertainers, it is the first of its kind for social media influencers and received praise from advocates.

Martin Kamenski - CEO of Revel CPA, an accountancy service for creatives and influencers - told Politico, “There’s a really tricky burden that’s gonna get placed … on these content creators to either figure out whether or not this applies to them,” 

According to the law’s text, it comes into effect when at least 30 per cent of monetized video “produced within a 30-day period included the likeness, name, or photograph” of the child.

The amount that needs to be contributed to a fund reportedly increases with the frequency of the child’s appearance in a video.

For example, “If a young person is in fifty per cent of a video, then you have to set aside 25 per cent of the money that’s received and put it into a trust fund,” Illinois state Senator David Koehler said in an interview.

Mr Kamenski, who reportedly supports the law, said he could “almost not imagine how a content creator would comply with this” until a tool or model is created to comb through video and determine the percentage that features a child.

Some parents already set aside money for their kids, he added.

In an extreme case, social media monetisation can bring in as much as $15,000 for a single post, Jessica Maddox - an assistant professor and expert on social media at the University of Alabama - said.

“Hundreds, if not thousands, of people on the internet are using their children in some way, shape or form,” Ms Maddox said. It is, however, unclear how many of those people are in Illinois; the only place where the new law currently applies.

Similar legislative efforts in recent years have reportedly stalled in California and Washington. Ms Maddox told Politico she has heard from people in state legislatures outside those two states since the Illinois law was enacted, signalling possible interest.

Senator Koehler said he is looking into further Illinois protections for children on social media. The new bill was reportedly amended to cut out a provision allowing child influencers to request deletion of content upon adulthood.

“The message should be to parents, if you’re going to do this, you need to pay attention to this,” the senator said. Should a child feel taken advantage of, “and you haven’t done what’s required,” they could make the decision to sue, he said.

Source: Politico

(Links and quote via original reporting)

In Illinois, a new law intended to ensure that child social influencers receive fair compensation was praised when it was signed earlier this month. However, concerns have been raised that compliance could be a challenge in this new frontier of child labour law, Politico reports.

The law will allow child influencers to sue if there is a failure to set aside a portion of their earnings in a trust account. Modelled after similar laws for other child entertainers, it is the first of its kind for social media influencers and received praise from advocates.

Martin Kamenski - CEO of Revel CPA, an accountancy service for creatives and influencers - told Politico, “There’s a really tricky burden that’s gonna get placed … on these content creators to either figure out whether or not this applies to them,” 

According to the law’s text, it comes into effect when at least 30 per cent of monetized video “produced within a 30-day period included the likeness, name, or photograph” of the child.

The amount that needs to be contributed to a fund reportedly increases with the frequency of the child’s appearance in a video.

For example, “If a young person is in fifty per cent of a video, then you have to set aside 25 per cent of the money that’s received and put it into a trust fund,” Illinois state Senator David Koehler said in an interview.

Mr Kamenski, who reportedly supports the law, said he could “almost not imagine how a content creator would comply with this” until a tool or model is created to comb through video and determine the percentage that features a child.

Some parents already set aside money for their kids, he added.

In an extreme case, social media monetisation can bring in as much as $15,000 for a single post, Jessica Maddox - an assistant professor and expert on social media at the University of Alabama - said.

“Hundreds, if not thousands, of people on the internet are using their children in some way, shape or form,” Ms Maddox said. It is, however, unclear how many of those people are in Illinois; the only place where the new law currently applies.

Similar legislative efforts in recent years have reportedly stalled in California and Washington. Ms Maddox told Politico she has heard from people in state legislatures outside those two states since the Illinois law was enacted, signalling possible interest.

Senator Koehler said he is looking into further Illinois protections for children on social media. The new bill was reportedly amended to cut out a provision allowing child influencers to request deletion of content upon adulthood.

“The message should be to parents, if you’re going to do this, you need to pay attention to this,” the senator said. Should a child feel taken advantage of, “and you haven’t done what’s required,” they could make the decision to sue, he said.

Source: Politico

(Links and quote via original reporting)