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169 U. Pa. L. Rev. 577 (2020-2021)
When Play Becomes Work: Child Labor Laws in the Era of "Kidfluencers"

handle is hein.journals/pnlr169 and id is 585 raw text is: COMMENT WHEN PLAY BECOMES WORK: CHILD LABOR LAWS IN THE ERA OF KIDFLUENCERS MARINA A. MASTERSONt In the past few years, kidfluencers, or children with large social media followings, have been integral to the rise of an $8-billion social media advertising industry. The most successful kidfluencers make up to $26 million in a year by posting sponsored content and monetizing ad space on their social media pages. Because kidfluencers have no legal right to these earnings or safe working conditions, the risk of exploitation is extreme and immediate. Still, the issue is nuanced because parents significantly control the production of their children's online content, and states are limited in how much they may regulate a parent's decisions in raising their child. This Comment addresses how kidfluencers fit in the child labor regime, specifically by comparing child actor law. Child actors are not covered by federal statutory labor laws, resulting in a patchwork of state regulations. This Comment proposes that states should enact laws, akin to child actor Coogan Laws, to financially protect kidfluencers. However, it concedes that certain common child actor regulations, like those involving work permits and workplace conditions, are difficult, if not impossible, to impose on kidfluencers. Ultimately, current child actor laws should not simply be expanded to include social media influencers, but instead, tailored legislation is needed. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 578 I. THE RISE OF KIDFLUENCERS..................................................... 582 II. THE EVOLUTION OF CHILD ACTOR LAW ................................. 585 t *Senior Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Volume 169; J.D. Candidate, 2021, University of Pennsylvania Law School; B.S. & B.A., 2018, University of Florida. My thanks to Professor Dorothy Roberts and Sean Burke for their invaluable comments and guidance. I would also like to thank the editors of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. (577)

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