Posting social media pictures and videos of your child is a popular move right now, but if you're an influencer doing it and you're making money off it, you're going to have to start paying your child.
"The rise of social media has given children new opportunities to earn a profit," Koehler said in an emailed press release after the bill was signed Friday afternoon. "Many parents have taken this opportunity to pocket the money, while making their children continue to work in these digital environments."
"Videos with kids do really well," said Bobbi Althoff, a TikToker with more than 5 million followers who used to feature her young daughter in paid advertising, but has since decided not to for privacy reasons. The Illinois law will entitle child influencers to a percentage of earnings based on how often they appear on video blogs or online content that generates at least 10 cents per view. To qualify, the content must be created in Illinois, and kids would have to be featured in at least 30% of the content in a 30-day period.
Shreya Nallamothu, the teen who brought her concerns to Koehler and set the legislation in motion, first zeroed in on the issue while scrolling through social media during quarantine three years ago. Lawmakers in Illinois, where Democrats hold a supermajority, passed the bill in May with bipartisan support.