California bill would require child influencers to be paid

California lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill intended to protect against financial exploitation of child influencers on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, requires California creators who feature minors in at least 30% of their content set aside a portion of their earnings into a trust fund the child will access once they are 18. It updates elements of the state’s decades old Coogan Act, established 1938 for the financial protection of child actors in Hollywood, looping in aspects of the fast-growing influencer economy.

“California is the epicenter of the global entertainment industry,” Padilla said in a statement Thursday. “The standards we set here become the blueprint for the nation and indeed, the world. We need to update our hard-fought labor protections and safeguard the financial future of these 21 ^st century performers.”

If approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California law will be among the first statewide to tackle a growing concern over child safety, privacy and exploitation via monetized social media content. Illinois last year became the nation's first state to establish financial protections for child influencers, and legislators in several other states are pushing ahead with similar laws.

The U.S. "influencer" or "content" economy was valued at $250 billion last year by Goldman Sachs Research , and is expected to reach half a trillion dollars in the next four years. Influencers surveyed in the report said nearly 70% of the income they generate from social media content is from brand deals, but they can also make money off advertising, offering subscriptions and eliciting donations from their audience of followers.

Family and parenting influencers have surged online, posting everything from synchronized dance videos and back-to-school hauls to tips to calm a fussy toddler or managing the stress of parenthood. As more creators turn to family-oriented topics, the inclusion of children has sparked concern among child labor and safety advocates, arguing minors are not giving consent for their image to be used or profited from.

Under the California bill, only parents, legal guardians or family members making at least $1,250 off their content each month will be subject to these new requirements, meaning the bill would primarily affect these family influencers. They would need to deposit 15% of their related income into minors' trust accounts.

This bill also would require content creators maintain records of their content including minors, including how much their posts make and how much creators are depositing in participating minors' trust accounts. The proposed law would not extend to social media companies themselves, nor to minors with a legal contract for content work, and enforcement would largely fall on minors' ability to sue.

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Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at kapalmer@gannett.com and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California bill would require child influencers to be paid