JEFFERSON CITY — Protections for “kidfluencers” were considered Tuesday by a panel of Missouri lawmakers.
The proposal is modeled after Illinois that took effect last year — the first of its kind in the country and one that received national attention. It deals with online content that families or parents share to make money.
“The reason I wrote this bill is to achieve three goals: to ensure that people are compensated for their labor, to make sure that people have greater control over their digital footprint, and most importantly to protect children,” said Rep. Doug Mann, D-Columbia, who is sponsoring the .
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It would create compensation requirements for children, allow children who were featured in monetized online content to request that platforms permanently delete that content when they turn 18, and require families to maintain records of kids’ compensation and online presence.
“There’s a minority of parents out there that are monetizing their kids, exploiting their kids and causing their kids severe trauma. And on top of that the kids are never seeing any amount of money,” Mann said.
The effort is not aimed at parents who, for example, share photos and videos online to keep in touch far-away family members, Mann said. Nor is it aimed at parents who responsibly and appropriately monetize their kids’ content.
“I don’t have a problem inherently with monetized ‘‘ accounts,” he said. “But we have to keep some guardrails on an industry like this.”
“This is more than necessary” said Rep. Bridget Walsh Moore, D-Ƶ, “Our laws are always, unfortunately, behind technology. Bureaucracy moves much slower.”
Walsh Moore encouraged those interested in the issue to look up Ruby Franke, a Utah mom who gave parenting advice on YouTube and earlier this year for child abuse.
Mann, an attorney and former history and civics teacher, is not seeking reelection when his term as a state representative ends this year. And with just a few weeks left in the legislative session and political momentum yet to build on the issue, it is unlikely his proposal will advance.
“I think it’s important for this conversation to get started because it’s not a conversation that’s happening in this building. It is a relatively new concept,” Mann said.
This legislation is Hous