NJ lawmaker introduces bill to safeguard rights of ‘kidfluencers’
Cutting-edge legislation would require family content creators to compensate minors for their work & prevent future exploitation
NEW JERSEY – Family members or caregivers who monetize social media content featuring a minor would be required to compensate the minor under legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Heather Simmons.
Bill A4302 comes in response to the rising trend of children becoming online celebrities, or “kidfluencers,” often at the behest of their parents who can make thousands of dollars off the child’s image and talents each month. Only about a half dozen states have introduced similar legislation and only Illinois has passed it into law. This places the New Jersey legislature at the forefront of protecting our children online.
“We must protect the rights of our youngest citizens, and legislation like this will help ensure they are not exploited for online content,” said Simmons (D-Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland).“Children deserve to be protected and also to be fairly compensated for their work, especially in environments where they might not fully understand the implications of their involvement.”
The bill would mandate that the family-member or caregiver running the vlog set aside earnings from the content featuring the minor in a trust account, which is to be untouched until that minor reaches adulthood. Similar to previous Child Actor laws, this bill aims to preserve the rights and dignity of New Jersey’s most vulnerable population while adjusting to a social media setting.
Assemblywoman Simmons noted that the bill would make it possible for these children to be properly compensated for their efforts and would deter individuals focused solely on profits from centering their content or social media channel around them.
The bill defines a “vlog” as content shared on an online platform, such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok in exchange for monetary compensation, and a “vlogger” as a person who creates social media content that features a minor in exchange for compensation. The legislation defines a minor engaged in work of content creation as any person under 16 whose likeness, name, or photo appears in at least 30% of the compensated content over a 30-day period.
The bill has been referred to the Assembly Children, Families, and Food Security Committee.
