Bill would add protections for children used as content by social media influencers

This article was originally published by Daily Montanan.

A video Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, saw before the session worried her.

It dealt with internet safety for children, Zolnikov said, and while she doesn’t have a social media account, the video originated on Instagram and led her down a rabbit hole. She started looking through the rest of the account and began learning a little more about what can happen when parents post photos and videos of their children on the internet.

That video pushed her to sponsor House Bill 392, which is being called the Child Digital Protection Act. The bill would give legal protections to minors for their appearance in profitable family video content, protections for their privacy and an ability to protect revenue they help generate. 

The bill had little trouble passing the House before transmittal — there hasn’t been a single vote cast against it on the floor or in committee — and is currently in the Senate Energy, Technology and Federal Relations committee.

Her research also led her to an organization called Quit Clicking Kids, which has supported similar legislation in other states and spurred her to carry the bill, she said.

“Quit Clicking Kids is centered around the idea that when influencers use their kids for the majority of their content, the kids are the ones generating interest and revenue for that account and deserve to be compensated as such,” the organization’s mission statement says. “These children also deserve the right to privacy, something that they have been cruelly denied once they are continuously featured on public social media accounts.”

Simply put, some social media influencers use their kids for content on popular platforms like TikTok and Instagram. During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, some examples Zolnikov used were potty training for young kids and first-time bra shopping for girls.

The bill addresses several problems that could come up. For one, as a child grows up, they may not want videos of them on the internet. Content creators, in this case their parents or guardians, can profit from those videos and the bill gives children an ability to have some of that revenue saved for them later in their life.

“As legislators, we aim to protect our kids from a lot of different things. We don’t let them go in a coal mine anymore,” Zolnikov said in an interview with the Daily Montanan. “This is just the next version of that.”

The bill does several things. For parents creating content that reaches certain thresholds of monetization, a trust fund would be created for the child, set at $0.10 per video view. It would also give children the “Right to be forgotten,” which allows for requests to remove content involving minor children after they reach the age of majority.

The $0.10 is in line with other state bills, Zolnikov said, adding that it “might be appropriate” to look at the amount in future legislative sessions.

She also added this hasn’t been an issue in Montana yet, but that’s part of the point of the legislation. She did cite examples from other states, as well as a book — “The House of My Mother,” which explains one woman’s story of abuse stemming from a popular family vlog.

“I don’t want a horror story to be able to point to,” Zolnikov said in an interview. “Because that means there’s a horror story.”

The bill gives options for children to seek legal remedies for violations of the law. Additionally, the bill would require parents to maintain documentation of the name and age of children involved in content creation, the number of videos they appear in, compensation from videos their parents received, and the amount of money deposited into the trust fund.

“It’s not a crime to put pictures and videos of your children on the internet,” Zolnikov said in a Feb. 12  House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations committee hearing. “It does become an ethical dilemma when all of a sudden you are making a lot of money.”

Monetization of video content on social media can be big business. TikTok, for example, has what’s called the “Creator Fund,” which has certain eligibility requirements — 10,000 followers and 100,000 views over the last 30 days.

Brands will also pay influencers to market their content. 

YouTube works similarly. Larger accounts with more views can add advertisements to their videos and get paid for it.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law last year dealing with this issue, and Zolnikov said 14 other states are looking at similar legislation.

Zolnikov said a committee  member asked if the bill would impact their ability to post photos of their grandchildren on Facebook.

She clarified it does not and that it only impacts people who are monetizing content featuring their children.

“It’s kind of cliche, but everything is changing so quickly, and I don’t think, especially in some contexts where there’s a lot of older members, that people don’t fully grasp how scary it can be,” Zolnikov said. “That’s why I’m passionate about it.”