SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — State lawmakers have approved a plan ensuring young social media influencers are paid for their work in videos with their parents or guardians.
Many across the country have seen families become famous on TikTok and YouTube by recording video blogs or "vlogs" with their kids prominently featured.Â
"This is a bill that was brought to me by a young 15-year-old high school student from Normal, Illinois. Her name is Shreya Nallamothu," said Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). "She was concerned about the risks of children being used in vlogging on the internet, especially where it was monetized and large sums of money were being created by their families in doing that."
This legislation states children under 16 should be entitled to a share of the revenue from videos if they are featured in at least 30% of a vlogger's content each month.
Parents or guardians would be required to set up a trust fund so minors can access the money when they are older. Minors would receive access to the money once they turn 18 or become legally independent from their parents or guardians.Â
Illinois will be the first state in the country to have this type of protection if the measure becomes law.
"The one thing I would suggest for the future is that this bill does not go far enough," said Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris). "We need to look at social media and the impacts on minors in general, and I look forward to working on that topic in the future."
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Sponsors agreed this bill is an important first step to address social media for kids. Senate Bill 1782 passed unanimously out of the Senate and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk.
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.
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