MARION — Effective Jan. 1, Illinois Senate Bill 1782 allows minors 16 and under who appear in a vlog online protections under the child labor law.

This law comes as a result of the influx of child influencers, or kids featured on any type of social media that could make a profit.

Influencing can be hugely financially lucrative, according to NPR. Some of the top YouTubers and TikTokers rake in millions annually from brand deals, sponsored posts and advertisements, and many mid-range influencers make hundreds of thousands.

While some “kid-influencers” run their own accounts, many children appear in family vlogging, or videos posted by the parents or other adults.

Illinois Senate Bill 1782 will entitle child influencers under the age of 16 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 feature kids in at least 30% of the content in a 30-day-period.

The adult in charge of the content will assume responsibility for maintaining records of kids’ appearances and must set aside gross earnings for the child in a trust account for when they turn 18. The law will give children the legislative ability to sue their parents if the money is not saved for them.

According to the Boston Children’s Digital Wellness Lab, family influencers typically produce two main types of content: anchor and filler. Anchor content involves the family’s talents, such as singing together, while filler content revolves around the “everyday” lives of the family, like running errands.

The Digital Wellness Lab said the former type of content could be curated to intentionally create relatability while generating social capital and monetary gain. Additionally, parents can enforce this type of content on children at a much younger age — before they are even old enough to conceptualize the situation.

The law was born out of teenager Normal, Illinois native Shreya Nallamothu’s school research project, according to NPR.

With the growth of family influencing, there has been increasing conversation online about whether children can consent to their photos or videos being posted or not. Some questions ask if or how parents’ sharing photos or videos, referred to as “sharenting,” violates a child’s privacy, NPR said.

Nallamothu, 13 during the pandemic lockdown, started scrolling social media more and began noticing a pattern of young children not only starring in videos, but pushing sponsored products, according Associated Press.

Nallamothu told AP that while the videos seemed innocuous at first, but as she consumed more and more child content, she began to wonder who was looking out for the kids.

“I realized that there’s a lot of exploitation that can happen within the world of ‘kidfluencing,’ ” Nallamothu said to AP. “And I realized that there was absolutely zero legislation in place to protect them.”

According to NPR, Nallamothu’s teacher encouraged her to share her findings with her state senator. She did, and her research helped fuel the legislation.

Nallamothu presented the issue and her research to Illinois state Sen. David Koehler of Peoria, and he then set the legislation in motion.

77% of American parents reported sharing stories, images or videos of their children online in a 2021 survey by Security.org. However, Nallamothu emphasized that this bill is not aimed at parents who post their children on Facebook for family and friends, or even one viral clip—but at families who make their income off of family vlogging.

While traditional child actors are protected by the Child Labor Law, there have been no laws yet passed regarding social media influencing until now.

Illinois Senate Bill 1782 is modeled after California’s 1939 Jackie Coogan law, named for the silent-film child actor who sued his parents for squandering his earnings, AP said. Coogan laws exist in several states and require parents to set aside a portion of child entertainer’s earnings for when they reach adulthood.

Though this bill is the first one to pass, other states have tried to regulate potential child exploitation, AP said. A 2018 California child labor bill included a social media advertising provision that was removed by the time it was passed, and Washington proposed a similar bill to Illinois’, but it stalled in committee.

Other states are following Illinois’ lead. One lawmaker in Pennsylvania announced their hope to pass a similar law.

Fortesa Latifi, a writer for Teen Vogue who has covered child influencers, spoke to NPR about what former child influencers said about their experience.

Latifi referenced one source who grew up on a family vlogging YouTube channel, and she told Latifi that her dad said “I am your dad, but I am also your boss.”

Latifi said that after the source told her parents she wanted to quit YouTube, her parents emphasized her involvement in the family income.

“It really flips the dynamic of the parent and the child in a really strange way,” Latifi said.

Latifi said that some child influencers are heartened by the law for young people subjected to family influencing now, but that it came too late for their own exploitation.