Kids feature in some of RI's biggest influencer accounts. This bill would make sure they're paid.

Antonia Noori Farzan, Providence Journal
·4 min read

PROVIDENCE - Children who star in their influencer parents' YouTube videos and TikTok reels would be entitled to compensation under legislation proposed by Sen. Alana DiMario, D-South Kingstown.

Bill S 2798 wouldn't affect people who simply post their family photos on social media, DiMario explained in a phone interview, but rather those "who choose to monetize that content."

"The more views they get, the more money they make," explained DiMario, who works as a mental health therapist. "And so they're also incentivized to do more things that contain big emotional reactions, or maybe are a little bit controversial and get people talking, and that has a very real impact on their children."

That can include videos where parents "prank" their kids - for instance, telling them they've eaten their Halloween candy - and post their reactions on social media. Some parenting accounts safeguard their children's privacy by not showing their faces or mentioning their names, DiMario said, but others share intimate moments like a child's first time getting a shot.

More: Insta-Stardom: Discover the stories that propelled RI's influencers to fame

What the bill would do

DiMario's bill is modeled on a law that Illinois passed last year, which in turn is based on laws designed to protect child actors. Similar legislation was also introduced this year in Washington and Maryland, she said.

Here's how it would work:

  • Minors would be considered "engaged in the authorized work of vlogging" (a shorthand for video blogging) if at least 30% of the video content produced within a 30-day period contained their name, image and likeliness.

  • Parents would need to keep track of how much their vlogs earn, and how long each minor child was featured in each vlog.

  • Minors would be entitled to anywhere from 10% to 50% of the earnings from each vlog, depending on how often they appear. Those earnings would be set aside in a trust account until they turn 18.

  • Once they turn 18, minors can request any videos that included their name and likeness be deleted. This would only be applicable if the video was monetized.

The goal isn't to ban so-called "kidfluencing" or "sharenting," but rather to make sure that children have some degree of compensation and protection, DiMario said. The bill also aims to "bring to light the idea that this isn't a casual thing that just affects the parents, or that is without impact."

More: Artists lived in a secret apartment inside Providence Place mall. Now it's a movie.

Why it matters

The explosion of "sharenting" and "kidfluencer" content has led to concerns about children being exploited for their parents' financial gain, with no guarantee that they'll see the any of the profits.

Family vloggers and parenting influencers have now been around for so long that some of their children are now adults and young adults, DiMario noted, "and they are speaking about how they didn't really enjoy that, and how they are really embarrassed about the fact that so many intimate moments of their childhood are publicly available for their colleges and employers and whoever else to see."

Additionally, DiMario said, there's data indicating that adult men are among the main consumers of videos of young children.

While those videos aren't overtly suggestive or sexualized, and wouldn't be flagged as inappropriate, it's another example of how sharing so much on social media can have "unintended consequences," she said.

Will it pass?

No influencers or other members of the public showed up to testify at the Senate Judiciary hearing for the bill last week.

However, the ACLU of Rhode Island submitted written testimony expressing concern about the "right to be forgotten," saying that requiring parents to delete videos would likely be an unconstitutional burden on free speech. (That aspect of the legislation was stripped from the bill that Illinois passed.)

DiMario said that she doesn't expect the bill to move forward this year, since this is the first time that it's been introduced, and that part of her motivation was to solicit feedback.

"It's certainly something that I'd like to pursue," she said. "I did get a lot of positive feedback from my colleagues after the bill was heard."

As more and more states start to look at the issue, she added, "this might be something that ultimately warrants some type of federal guidance."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI 'sharenting' influencers would need to pay their kids with this bill