TN bill regarding children in social media content heads to gov’s desk

A bill pending Governor Bill Lee The signing would require social media influencers to compensate children who appear in their money-making content and create new child labor protections in Tennessee’s content creation market.

SB1469 It heads to the governor’s desk after a unanimous vote in the House on April 2. The bill passed the Senate on March 19 by a vote of 29 to 2.

Sponsor: Senator Page WalleyR-Bolivar, SB1469 applies to a relatively niche market. However, the legislation will directly impact the already popular and growing content creation industry in Nashville and surrounding Tennessee areas.

When and why was the bill introduced?

You. “This legislation was put forward in response to the rapid growth of monetized social media content involving children, particularly in family vlogs and influencer spaces,” Page Walley, R-Bolivar, told the Tennessean regarding SB1469, which was filed for introduction in October of last year.

“We see situations where minors are at the center of content that generates significant revenue, but there are few clear safeguards to ensure their welfare or fair compensation,” Walley continued. “This bill is about putting commonsense protections in place. It sets clear standards to ensure that when children contribute money-making content, they are protected some of those profits, just as we expect in more traditional entertainment industries.”

What will change when Governor Lee signs it?

Currently not available in Tennessee child labor laws It’s directly related to content creation. Available Department of Labor and Workforce Development Laws that indirectly apply to content creation and children include placing a child in potentially hazardous working conditions, the number of hours worked, and restricting the work of minors during the school day.

Here’s what the legislation will mean:

• Requires compensation for children in monetized content. Specifically, kids who appear in 30% of an influencer’s content over a 30-day period.

• The income from these videos must be transferred to a foundation that will be given access to children when they turn 18.

• Children under 14 cannot earn money independently of their content. However, children between the ages of 14 and 17 are entitled to receive 100% of the revenue they earn from content.

• It gives minors and adults the right to control the content by allowing them to request the permanent deletion of the content containing them.

• Creators will be required to track revenue, minor appearances, and how much money is deposited into featured minors’ trust accounts.

This bill will be implemented through civil litigation, not criminal sanctions, and will come into force on July 1.

What other states have implemented similar laws?

Tennessee joins Illinois, Minnesota, California and Utah in tightening oversight of eruption content creation market. Illinois became the first state to pass such a law in 2023.

The main similarities between state legislation are the application of for-profit trusts and the 30% appearance threshold that determines a child’s participation in content creation. Minnesota and Utah also give individuals the right to remove content in which they appear to be underage.

Minnesota has the strictest law of the five states; because it is the only law that prohibits children under 14 from appearing in monetized social media content.

Who are some of TN’s most influential family members?

compared to previous Tennessee reportingTennessee is one of the states with the most Instagram influencers per capita, ranking fourth behind Washington D.C., California, and New York, with 49.3 Instagram influencers per capita.

While Nashville’s creator market is diverse, including musicians, comedians, food critics, and designers, family-oriented lifestyle content is one popular genre in the industry. Shawn Johnson East and her husband Andrew East With a combined 5.7 million followers on their individual accounts, they are arguably Nashville’s most popular influencers in the space.

A few other successful family-focused lifestyle content creators in Nashville:

Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at PBurditt@nashvill.gannett.com.

This article first appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: TN restricts monetized content featuring children. What you need to know