Parenting influencers must now pay their kids shown in videos under Illinois law

Parenting influencers known as “mom-fluencers,” “sharenting creators” and “family vloggers” are now on notice in the state of Illinois. These social media moms and dads who feature their children in videos in which they make money now must pay their kids under a new law that went into effect on Monday, July 1.

Under the amendment to the state’s Child Labor Law , titled “Minors Featured in Vlogs,” children under the age of 16 will receive 15% of an influencer’s gross earnings if they appear in at least 30% of compensated video content within a 30-day period.

This all came to be thanks to teenager Shreya Nallamothu who testified for the bill which was signed into law in August 2023. Nallamothu said she became concerned over kids' privacy being “exploited” by parents looking to make money online.

The law calls for the influencer to keep record of the child’s work and deposit the money into a trust account for the child to receive at age 18. If the influencer does not maintain the records as indicated, the child can take legal action.

“The enforcement of this is not with the state of Illinois. We have too much we cannot handle already,” State Sen. David Koehler, D, the bill’s primary sponsor, told " PBS Newshour" in September 2023. “This is a right of legal action. When a child turns 18, they can look back and say, ‘My parents used me in videos all throughout my childhood and made lots of money but I have nothing.’ So they have a right then to take legal action and recover some of that.”

Washington state is one of several discussing similar acts to regulate parenting content, including allowing kids to request the content be taken down.

“Not all kids get that right or that choice to be included in these materials and, quite frankly, don't always get the explanation of what it could mean for them, the implications of it long-term,” Washington state Rep. Kristine Reeves, D, co-sponsor of the Washington bill, told ABC News .

With more states like Maryland and California considering similar laws, Nallamothu is hoping Illinois will be the first of many to help protect kids’ privacy on social media.

“I hope to see Illinois become a trendsetter law and I am glad we have been able to show other states that regulating this industry and technology is possible,” Nallamothu said. “So I definitely hope to see more states doing stuff like this in the future.”

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