Child Influencers and Compensation in California

In 2023, the term “influencer” has become a household word.[1] Whether they’re sharing their latest culinary creations on YouTube[2], performing viral dance routines on TikTok[3], or basking in some tropical getaway on Instagram[4], the “influencer” label has evolved into an encompassing term that describes individuals who use social media to engage their audiences.

The term “child influencer,” for the purposes of this writing, describes accounts that amass substantial social media followings, thanks to parents’ child-centric content uploads. Some parents post videos of their children unboxing and reviewing new toys.[5] Others upload vlog-style content and document their child’s day-to-day life,[6] or post videos of their child doing or saying something funny.[7] While the child is the primary star of the content, it is frequently run by and uploaded on the adult’s social media platforms, as sites such as Facebook and Instagram require users to be at least 13 years old.[8] While some of these young stars may enjoy entertaining audiences via social media, others are thrust into the limelight by their parents, often having the intimate details of their childhood shared online for millions of strangers to see.[9] In essence, these children can become unwitting pawns in their parents’ pursuit of financial gain and glory.

These young influencers’ accounts can generate millions of dollars annually through sponsored content and by monetizing their social media platforms.[10] For example, child influencer Samia has been on the internet since before she was born.[11] Samia’s father said in a New York Times interview that “Samia’s birth video is on YouTube, so she’s pretty much been born into social media.”[12] At 4 years old, Samia had 143,000 followers on Instagram, 203,000 YouTube subscribers, and had landed paid promotions with major companies such as Crayola and HomeStyle Harvest chicken nuggets.[13] Similarly, Kyler Fisher, whose then-2-year-old identical twins had over 2 million Instagram followers, told the New York Times that one sponsored post on the girls’ social media account could command between $10,000 to $20,000.[14] Advertisers are increasingly eager to sign lucrative brand deals with children who have large followings, and are willing to spend more money on child influencer content that they know will reach their desired audience.[15]

Given the current context in which children—or their parents—can earn substantial sums for the content they star in, California must create legislation protecting child entertainers whose performances occur on social media.[16] A great starting point would be for California to adopt similar legislation to that of Illinois.[17] In 2023, Illinois became the first state to pass a law safeguarding minors in online content and defining their compensation rights.[18] The new Illinois legislation, set to take effect in July 2024, requires parents to set aside 50% of earnings from a piece of content into a protected trust fund for the child.[19] The amount a child is entitled to is based on the child’s screen time in the video.[20]  

Opponents of the Illinois legislation contend that the parents of child influencers deserve compensation for the time and effort they invest in monetizing their child’s content and securing brand deals.[21] However, the Illinois legislature is not proposing that the adults behind the child-centric content be left with nothing; the bill’s proponents simply do not believe the parents deserve to be given everything.[22] An Illinois lawmaker who supports the legislation told CNN that monetizing children in social media videos without compensating the child implicates similar issues to those faced by child actors.[23]

Adopting similar legislation in California would help protect child influencers from parents who might prioritize their own financial gain over their child’s best interests. Dr. Shauna Springer, a psychologist who specializes in psychological trauma and close relationships underscored in an interview with Complex that “[t]he path to fame is lined by sharks. Child stars need guidance and protection from people who have their best interests in mind. In the worst-case scenarios, a parent or other guardian becomes yet another shark.”[24] California affords financial protection to child actors[25], but does not yet extend those protections to child influencers. This is counterintuitive, as the work of a child influencer can be even more invasive and difficult than being an actor. Instead of playing a role, child influencers are often forced to share intimate details and experiences of their own personal lives with audiences, and for that reason, they deserve compensation and financial protections that are the same or even greater than those given to child actors.[26]

While California has yet to address what fair compensation would look like for child influencers, it would make sense for it to mirror many aspects of the Coogan Act, legislation created to protect child actors.[27] Jackie Coogan was one of the earliest and most successful child actors of the 1920s, but when he came of age it was revealed that his parents had left him impoverished after spending most of his $3-4 million income.[28] Jackie filed a lawsuit against his parents at the age of 23 and ultimately prevailed.[29] However, after covering legal fees, he was left with only $126,000 from a once vast fortune amassed during his childhood career in the entertainment industry.[30]

The state of California enacted the Coogan Act in response to Jackie Coogan’s financial fiasco, which granted judges the authority to establish a “Coogan Trust” or savings account for child actors, accessible only to the child once they reached the age of majority.[31] However, the 1936 Coogan Act contained significant loopholes, such as leaving the decision of establishing a trust fund to the discretion of judges, as well as making the amount to be saved based on the child’s net income.[32] Consequently, child actors such as Judy Garland and Macaulay Culkin were left with much less than expected as their parents spent their millions before they were of age.[33] For 61 years, the Coogan Act remained unchanged.[34] In the year 2000, new amendments were added that mandated that a minimum of 15% of a child actor’s income be placed in a safeguarded trust fund.[35] This removed judicial discretion, and protected the money from sneaky deductions due to “management” or “secretarial” fees, as it is now based on the child’s gross income.[36]

Ultimately, Illinois’s legislation signals a step in the right direction that will hopefully inspire California to take similar measures. What fair compensation looks like for child influencers must be reconsidered within the context of social media. Without legal oversight in this growing area, children will likely be taken advantage of, and although one would like to believe this would not be the case within the parent-child relationship, the history and need for the Coogan Act make it clear that this is not uncommon when monetary gain is in the equation. Legislation in this area would help prevent the exploitation of minors while ensuring compensation for revenue that they were responsible for generating in the first place.

[1] Kat Shee, The Rise of Influencers in Media, Forbes (June 23, 2023, 7:30 AM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/06/23/the-rise-of-influencers-in-media/?sh=4af7fc7d695f.

[2] Jessie Fox, 12 of the Best Food Influencers on YouTube (2023), The Outloud Group (Sept. 2, 2022), https://www.outloudgroup.com/post/food-influencers.

[3] Charise Roberts, 10 TikTok Accounts Every Dance Fan Should Follow, Steezy Blog (Dec. 16, 2022), https://www.steezy.co/posts/10-tiktok-accounts-every-dance-fan-should-follow.

[4] Justine Lailler, Top 10 Travel Influencers, Territory Influence (July 5, 2023), https://www.territory-influence.com/top-10-travel-influencers/.

[5] Amanda Perelli, The world’s top-earning YouTube star is an 8-year-old boy who made $22 million in a single year reviewing toys, Business Insider (Oct. 20, 2019, 6:45 AM), https://www.businessinsider.com/8-year-old-youtube-star-ryan-toysreview-made-22-million-2019-10.

[6] Belinda Luscombe, The YouTube Parents Who are Turning Family Moments into Big Bucks, Time (May 18, 2017, 6:00 AM), https://time.com/4783215/growing-up-in-public/.

[7] FailArmy, Kids Say the Funniest Things | Funny Moments Compilation, YouTube (Sept. 1, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8rl11LLRbs.

[8] Paul Harper & Catherine Micallef, How Old do you have to be to have Facebook and Instagram account? Social media age restrictions explained, The U.S. Sun (June 8, 2022, 12:33 PM), https://www.the-sun.com/tech/289567/age-restrictions-facebook-snapchat-twitter-instagram/; Katie Collins, TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage of Their Kids. It Needs to Stop, Cnet (Aug. 7, 2022, 5:00 AM), https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/tiktok-parents-are-taking-advantage-of-their-kids-it-needs-to-stop/.

[9] Forever Family Vlogs, MY FIRST PREGNANCY TEST | VLOG#1621, YouTube (June 13, 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vavauxIjbZg.

[10] Sapna Maheshwari, Online and Earning Thousands, at Age 4: Meet the Kidfluencers, N.Y. Times

 (Mar. 1, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/business/media/social-media-influencers-kids.html.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Valeriya Safronova, Child Influencers Make Big Money. Who Gets It?, N.Y. Times (Oct. 10, 2023, 4:17 PM), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/style/children-influencers-money.html#:~:text=While%20those%20windfalls%20are%20rare,can%20earn%20%2410%2C000%20or%20%2420%2C000.

[17] Samantha Murphy Kelly, Illinois passes a law that requires parents to compensate child influencers, CNN (Aug. 16, 2023, 11:51 AM), https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/tech/kid-influencer-law/index.html.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Samantha Murphy Kelly, Illinois passes a law that requires parents to compensate child influencers, CNN (Aug. 16, 2023, 11:51 AM), https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/tech/kid-influencer-law/index.html.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Ailbhe Rogers, More Than Pocket Money: A History of Child Actor Laws, Libr. of Cong. Blogs (June 1, 2022), https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/06/more-than-pocket-money-a-history-of-child-actor-laws/.

[26] Fortesa Latifi, Influencer Parents and The Kids Who Had Their Childhood Made Into Content, Teen Vogue (Mar. 10, 2023), https://www.teenvogue.com/story/influencer-parents-children-social-media-impact.

[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] Id.

[34] Id.

[35] Id.

[36] Id.