Things to Know When Your Child Is an Online Influencer

 Posted on July 19, 2024 in Business Law

We live in an era where online content creation, personal branding, and influencers are part of the daily discourse. Anyone from an expert in a field to a child can have their own channels, with thousands and even millions of followers consuming their content. When influencers have sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, or subscriptions, they have the potential to earn serious money. What happens when your child wants to be an influencer and begins building an impressive following online? What begins as a fun hobby can become a lucrative business with legal oversight and obligations. This article will review a new law that dictates some requirements for parents or other guardians of child influencers. If this has become an issue for your family, speak with a knowledgeable DuPage County, IL business law attorney to understand how the law can impact you.

How Illinois Laws Can Impact Your Child

Most online platforms require users to be at least 13 years old, but many parents find ways to get around this. Often, parents can create a channel and simply post their child’s videos. If the child enjoys it and no one is harmed, it does not seem like much of an issue.

While your son or daughter may have begun their YouTube channel or Instagram page as a fun hobby, it could easily become a serious business endeavor today. If your child can produce content that users are interested in, she might start earning significant money even if she does not care about the bottom line and is not business savvy. You might feel obligated to help her manage this success and her finances. However, it is important to be sure that any business-related activity involving your child is in abidance with Illinois’s child labor law.

For example, a new state law effective as of July 2024 has determined that the parents of child influencers need to keep a certain percentage of the child’s online-based profits into a blocked trust for that child. The specific percentage is determined by how much time the child appears on the screen.

For now, there is no real enforcement of these rules. Additionally, it seems some voices are calling for restrictions to limit how much parents can post of their children for profit, along with efforts to allow children to remove any content that they are featured in. While none of this has been legislated yet, this is certainly a field of law that can expect to see developments in the coming years.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a DuPage County, IL Business Lawyer

If your son or daughter is a child influencer, you should speak with a skilled Glen Ellyn, IL business law attorney to ensure you are not violating any law or regulation related to their online activity. At NN Legal Group, we stay up-to-date with the law as it develops to suit our current reality, and we can provide you with the latest counseling to ensure that your rights are protected. Call us at 630-474-0925 to schedule a free consultation.