Gov. JB Pritzker has signed into law a bill that adds young vloggers and social media influencers to child labor protections.
State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, proposed the bill that requires parents to share revenue with their children if they make money posting videos of their kids on social media.
“The rise of social media has given children new opportunities to earn a profit,” Koehler said in a statement. “Many parents have taken this opportunity to pocket the money, while making their children continue to work in these digital environments.”
University High School student Shreya Nallamothu of Normal asked Koehler to write the bill. She said she was concerned child influencers can build a following on YouTube, TikTok and other places online, but would not get any of the money their content generates.
“I definitely wanted to create policy and legislation around child influencers because I felt like Illinois could be kind of a trend setter and a precedent setter for this issue,” she said in an interview with WGLT in April.
The bill unanimously passed the Illinois Senate in May. State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, sponsored the bill in the House, where the measure passed by a 98-17 vote. Republican state Reps. Jason Bunting and Dan Caulkins, whose districts includes parts of McLean County, voted against the bill.
The new law goes into effect next July.
