Illinois law gives protections to social media kid-fluencers, first such law in U.S.

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new Illinois law that took effect earlier this week requires social media influencers to pay up if they use their children in their popular content.

The law outlines labor protections for so-called kid-fluencers, much like the existing protections for child actors, and it is the first in the country to do so.

Illinois Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) sponsored the measure and explained to WBBM back in January what it will mean for children under age 16 who make money off posts.

“If a child is in 50% of the video, and you receive income, well then at least 25% of that has to be set aside in a trust fund for the child,” he said.

Chris McCarty, founder of Quit Clicking Kids, estimated that YouTubers who get 1 million subscribers to watch a new video every week could earn more than $900,000 per year.

“This is a source of income; this is an industry, and I think it’s disingenuous to say that it isn’t,” McCarty said.

Koehler said a 15-year-old student in his district brought the idea to his office after seeing a lack of protections for minors.

The law will help ensure that children who are involved in digital content creation are able to get a piece of the pie when they’re older, the senator said in January.

“I think it makes a lot of sense,” he said. “It should be done at a federal level, but we had to start where we had to start.”

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