When Play Becomes Work: Child Labor Laws in the era of “Kidfluencers”

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.

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.

Search

Print or Digital

Volumes & Issues

Years

Topic

Types

When Play Becomes Work: Child Labor Laws in the era of “Kidfluencers”