A child appearing in a paid YouTube video is now a worker under the law — at least in four states, and soon in many more.
Most parents running family channels or featuring their kids in sponsored content have no idea they are legally required to open a trust account, keep records, and in some states, hand over a majority of their child’s earned income. The legal gap between what families think is informal content creation and what the law now considers compensated performance is closing fast.
This guide covers every active child performer law governing social media in the United States, what federal rules apply regardless of your state, and exactly what steps parents and guardians must take to stay compliant.
What Are Child Performer Laws and Why Do They Now Cover Social Media?
Child performer laws are statutes that establish financial protections, working conditions, and legal rights for minors who earn money through entertainment. They existed long before social media. The reason they now apply to Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok is straightforward: children featured in monetized online content are doing the same work as child actors — they are just doing it on a different screen.
The original model dates to 1939. Child actor Jackie Coogan earned millions as a young star in silent films and discovered as an adult that his parents had spent nearly all of it. California passed the Coogan Law in response, requiring that at least 15% of a child performer’s gross earnings be deposited into a blocked trust account, inaccessible to parents until the child turns 18. Employers — not parents — were responsible for funding that trust.
For eight decades, “employer” meant a studio, a production company, or a theater. Then family vlogging arrived.
By 2023, parents were generating hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by featuring their children in YouTube videos and Instagram posts — with zero legal obligation to set any of it aside. The children doing the work had no wage protection, no trust account, and no right to the money their image had earned.
The watershed moment came when Ruby Franke, a family vlogger whose “8 Passengers” YouTube channel had over 2.5 million subscribers, was arrested in December 2023 and later sentenced to 30 years in prison for four counts of aggravated child abuse. Her children had appeared in years of monetized content, with no evidence they ever received any of the revenue. The case drew national attention and accelerated legislative action across the country.
Which States Have Laws Protecting Child Social Media Influencers?
As of mid-2026, four states have enacted specific laws protecting child social media influencers: Illinois, California, Minnesota, and Utah. Sixteen additional states introduced similar legislation in 2025, and more are expected to follow.
Here is a comparison of the four enacted laws:
| State | Law | Effective Date | Content Threshold | Trust Requirement | Age Covered | Right to Delete |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Child Labor Law of 2024 (SB 1782) | July 1, 2024 | Child in ≥30% of content in 30 days | Proportionate share of gross earnings | 16 and under | No (separate bills pending) |
| California | AB 1880 / SB 764 | January 1, 2025 | Child in ≥30% of content | 65% of proportionate gross earnings; contracted work: 15% via Coogan | Under 18 | Upon reaching 18 (SB 764) |
| Minnesota | HF 3488 | July 1, 2025 | Minor appears in monetized content | 100% of earnings for under 14; proportionate share for others | Under 18 | Yes, at age 13+ or as an adult |
| Utah | SB 322 | 2025 | Minor features in content | Proportionate share of gross earnings | Under 18 | Yes |
Illinois — The First Mover
Illinois was the first state in the country to expand its child labor laws to explicitly cover social media and online content creators. The law defines an “online platform” as any public-facing website or application, including social networks, and a “vlog” as content shared on an online platform in exchange for compensation. That last detail matters: the law only applies to monetized content, not personal family videos.
Under the Illinois rules, if a child 16 or under appears in at least 30% of a vlogger’s content within any 30-day period, the creator must deposit a proportionate share of gross earnings into a blocked trust account for that child. The child can access the money upon turning 18.
California — The Broadest Protection
California’s legislation is the most comprehensive enacted so far. Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills on September 26, 2024. The first, AB 1880, extends the historic Coogan Law to child influencers performing contractual work — requiring employers to pay at least 15% of gross earnings directly into a Coogan trust account. The second, SB 764, covers children featured in content without a formal contract, requiring creators to set aside 65% of a proportionate percentage of total gross earnings if a minor appears in 30% or more of their monetized output.
“In old Hollywood, child actors were exploited,” Governor Newsom said when signing the legislation. “In 2024, it’s now child influencers.”
SB 764 also gives minors the right to request deletion of content featuring them once they reach adulthood — a “right to delete” provision that is increasingly appearing in state-level legislation.
Minnesota — The Strongest Wage Protections
Minnesota’s law, effective July 1, 2025, goes further than any other state on wages. Children under 14 must receive 100% of the proceeds generated by their appearance in content — not a portion, all of it. The law also prohibits children under 14 from “engaging in the work of content creation” in ways that exceed defined limits, treating young child influencers more like employees with working hour restrictions. Additionally, any minor aged 13 or older can request that content featuring them be removed.
Utah — Driven by the Franke Case
Utah passed SB 322 in 2025 directly in response to the Ruby Franke case. The law requires proportionate earnings set-asides in trust and includes content deletion provisions championed in part by Franke’s own daughter, Shari, who became an advocate for stronger child protections in digital media.
The 16 Other States Moving in 2025
By mid-2025, sixteen additional states had introduced content creator legislation modeled on the Illinois, California, and Minnesota frameworks. These include Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Virginia among others. The pace of state-level action has accelerated significantly, and compliance requirements are expected to expand geographically throughout 2026.
What Must Parents Do to Comply with Child Influencer Laws?
Compliance requires four concrete actions: calculate content exposure, open the right trust account, keep required records, and understand platform-level obligations. The steps below apply in all states with enacted laws, with state-specific adjustments noted.
Step 1: Determine Whether Your Content Crosses the Threshold
Review your posting history for any 30-day rolling window. If a minor appears in 30% or more of your monetized content — videos, posts, or streams for which you receive compensation — you are covered. Compensation includes ad revenue, brand deals, affiliate income, and gifted products with disclosed market value.
Step 2: Calculate the Proportionate Earnings Share
The laws do not simply take 30% of your income because a child is in 30% of your content. They require a proportionate calculation based on how much of the content the child appears in. If a child appears in 50% of your content and you earn $10,000 from that content, the protected earnings are calculated on that proportionate basis. California’s SB 764 then requires 65% of that proportionate share to go into trust. An entertainment attorney can help you run these calculations correctly.
Step 3: Open a Blocked Trust Account
A Coogan-style trust account is a blocked account, meaning the parent cannot withdraw funds. Only the child can access the money upon turning 18. These accounts are available through major banks and through SAG-AFTRA’s banking partners. In California, parents must be able to prove the account exists and maintain documentation of all deposits.
Step 4: Maintain Content Records
California explicitly requires creators to maintain records of all content featuring a minor and to provide copies to the minor upon request. Best practice is to keep a content log with dates, platforms, earnings per post, and the child’s screen time or appearance percentage. This documentation protects you in an audit and gives the child a complete record of their commercial work history.
Step 5: Consult an Entertainment or Family Law Attorney
The laws are new, the enforcement mechanisms are still developing, and they vary state by state. An attorney familiar with child entertainment law can review your specific situation, help you calculate obligations, and ensure your contracts with brands include compliant payment structures.
How Do Federal Laws Like COPPA Apply to Child Content Creators?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is the primary federal law affecting children on social media, but it operates differently from state child performer laws. COPPA governs data privacy and platform behavior — it does not establish earnings protections for child performers.
COPPA applies to websites and online services directed at children under 13. It requires these platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or sharing a child’s personal information. The FTC finalized significant amendments to the COPPA Rule in January 2025, adding a requirement that targeted advertising to children must be opt-in by default — meaning platforms cannot serve behavioral ads to children unless a parent has actively consented.
For child content creators specifically, COPPA’s implications fall into two categories.
First, platforms like YouTube have their own COPPA compliance frameworks. YouTube requires creators to label content as “made for kids” when it is primarily directed at children. This classification disables comments, personalized ads, and certain notifications — and it affects monetization. Creators who misclassify child-directed content face FTC enforcement, as YouTube paid $170 million to settle COPPA violations in 2019 with the FTC.
Second, COPPA does not protect a child’s financial earnings — only their personal data. A parent filming their toddler for a brand deal is not violating COPPA as a creator, but they must still comply with state child performer laws if those laws apply to their content.
The FTC’s separate endorsement guidelines also require that paid partnerships and sponsored content be clearly disclosed regardless of the age of the creator or subject. A child appearing in a brand video must have that sponsorship disclosed, and the adult managing the account is responsible for that disclosure.
Common Mistakes Parents Make — and What They Actually Cost
Myth 1: “We’re just a family channel, not a business.”
This is the most common misunderstanding. Once content is monetized — through AdSense, brand deals, or affiliate links — it is a commercial activity in the eyes of the law. Informal does not mean unregulated.
Mistake 2: Waiting Until Earnings Are Large
State laws do not set minimum earning thresholds before obligations kick in. If the 30% content and monetization conditions are met, the trust requirement applies. Waiting until your channel “gets big enough” can mean years of retroactive liability.
Mistake 3: Assuming Parental Consent Covers Everything
Parents often believe that because they consent to filming their own children, all legal obligations are satisfied. This conflates consent with compensation. A child can consent to being filmed — or more accurately, a parent can consent on their behalf — but that does not replace the child’s right to financial protections from earnings generated by their appearance.
Mistake 4: Not Labeling Child-Directed Content on Platforms
Failing to label YouTube content as “made for kids” when it qualifies is a COPPA violation. The FTC can fine companies up to $53,088 per violation per day. Creators who knowingly mislabel to preserve monetization features face federal enforcement risk.
Myth 5: “Only Huge Channels Need to Worry”
Scale is irrelevant under the law. Illinois, California, Minnesota, and Utah impose trust account obligations based on content proportion and monetization — not follower counts or income size. A channel with 5,000 subscribers running a single brand deal can trigger compliance requirements.
Mistake 6: Ignoring the Right-to-Delete Implications
Parents who have built years of content around their children should be aware that several state laws now give those children the right to request deletion of that content once they reach 18. California is actively expanding this right. Brands and creators who have licensing agreements covering content featuring minors need to build deletion rights into those agreements now, before the child reaches adulthood.
FAQ: Child Performer Laws and Social Media
Does a federal child performer law apply to social media influencers? No comprehensive federal child performer law for social media exists yet. At the federal level, COPPA addresses data privacy for children under 13, and FTC guidelines require disclosure of paid partnerships. Financial protections for child content creators are currently governed state by state. Federal legislation has been proposed but not enacted as of mid-2026.
What counts as “compensation” under child influencer laws? Compensation generally includes ad revenue, brand partnership fees, affiliate commissions, gifted products with disclosed monetary value, and any other financial benefit received in exchange for content. Unpaid personal family videos where no revenue is generated are typically excluded, but as soon as any monetization is attached, the laws may apply.
Do these laws apply if I live outside Illinois, California, Minnesota, or Utah? If you reside in a state without an enacted law, you are not currently subject to state-level child performer requirements for social media. However, 16 additional states introduced legislation in 2025, and your state may enact rules before the end of 2026. Consulting an attorney in your state is advisable if your child regularly appears in monetized content.
At what age does a child stop being covered by these laws? Protections apply to minors, meaning individuals under 18 in all states with enacted laws. Illinois specifically names children 16 and under in its 30-day content calculation provision. Minnesota’s strongest protections — requiring 100% of earnings — apply to children under 14.
Can a child access their trust account before they turn 18? Generally, no. Coogan-style trust accounts are blocked accounts. The child gains access upon reaching adulthood. Some states are discussing provisions that allow earlier access in exceptional circumstances, but no enacted law currently includes that.
Who is responsible for setting up the trust account — the parent or the brand? In most state laws, the parent or content creator who manages the account is responsible for opening and maintaining the trust. However, California’s Coogan Law extension requires employers — meaning brands that hire child influencers directly under contract — to contribute 15% of gross earnings into the trust account themselves, bypassing the parent entirely.
What happens if a parent does not comply? Penalties vary by state and are still being developed through enforcement mechanisms. At minimum, the child can pursue a civil claim against the parent for unpaid trust contributions once they reach adulthood. States may also impose administrative penalties. The financial and reputational risk of non-compliance is significant and likely to grow as enforcement matures.
Conclusion
Child performer laws are no longer a concern only for traditional entertainment families. If you run a monetized channel or account that regularly features a minor, you are operating in a regulated space — and the regulatory map is expanding fast.
The practical action list is straightforward. Check whether your state has enacted a child influencer law. Review your content to determine whether the 30% threshold is met. Open a blocked trust account if required. Keep detailed records. And if you work with brands that hire child influencers, ensure your contracts reflect the legal obligations all parties now carry.
The goal of these laws is not to punish creative families — it is to ensure that children who do the work also benefit from it when they are old enough to use that money on their own terms.
If you are unsure where your situation stands, consult an entertainment or family law attorney in your state. The landscape is moving quickly, and the cost of getting ahead of it is far lower than the cost of catching up.
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