Illinois bill forces vlogger parents to split profits with their kids’ ‘influencers’ – NBC Chicago

A bill passed by Illinois lawmakers would require parents who earn money from posting videos of their children online to share a portion of the revenue with their children.

According to Senate Bill 1782, a “vlogger” who provides a certain amount of content to a minor on an Internet platform must allocate a specified amount of gross income to the trust for the minor.

While traditional child actors are covered by child labor laws, protections do not cover young “influencers,” who are social media users who have built up a significant following on social media, sometimes to educate about a particular topic.

“These days, you often hear about parents or guardians exploiting children for online success,” said Illinois Sen. Dave Koehler, one of the bill’s sponsors, in a press release. “A digital footprint that a young person doesn’t agree to create shouldn’t follow them for life.”

Under the bill, any minor under the age of 16 who makes up at least 30% of a vlogger’s paid video content within a 30-day period must receive compensation measured as the percentage of time the minor’s likeness, name or photograph appears. in the segment. For example, if a child appears in 25% of the author’s content, they should receive 25% of the revenue.

If the content includes more than one child, the revenue must be divided equally among the children, regardless of the difference in the percentage of content provided by each, the text of the bill states. Proceeds must be placed in a trust account that minors can access when they turn 18, according to the bill. At age 18, young influencers can request the removal of any content they appear on.

The bill is currently moving through the state Senate.