SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois could be the first state in the country to ensure children featured in social media videos with their families are compensated for their work.
Parents and guardians across the country have been showing their children on video blogs or "vlogs" to become influencers on TikTok and YouTube. Although, Democratic lawmakers realized there is no law on the books to protect these children and they argue that kids should be paid for their name, image and likeness.
"This bill is modeled after child actor labor laws and protects minors by having their parents or guardians set up a trust fund so that the minor can access these funds when they are older," said Rep. Sharon Chung (D-Bloomington).
The bill states children under 16 could be entitled to a share of the revenue from videos if they are featured in at least 30% of a vlogger's content within a 30-day period. Minors would receive access to the money once they turn 18 or become legally independent from their parents or guardians.
The idea came from a 15-year-old high school student in Chung's district. Shreya Nallamothu told her local lawmakers that she was concerned child influencers weren't protected and many could become victims to parents or guardians taking advantage of them.
"When scrolling on social media, I always saw young children and families, called family vlog channels, posting videos online," Nallamothu said. "After finding that users could make money off of platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, I learned that, often, these kids are made to participate in videos without any guarantee of the income generated from the content."
(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Senate Bill 1782 passed out of the House Tuesday on a 98-17 vote. Some House Republicans opposed the plan as they feel government should not impede on family relationships.
The legislation now heads back to the Senate on concurrence. This measure previously gained unanimous support in the Senate on March 29.
"This new digital era has allowed children to find ways to make money online from the content they make," said Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). "The problem is that many parents take this opportunity to pocket the money themselves, and encourage their children to make more content for their benefit."
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