While images of children labouring in cocoa fields, sweeping factory floors, or crushing rocks rightly spark global outrage, the exploitation becomes challenging to define when children are turned into digital content. Yet, the culture of kidfluencing is finally facing scrutiny as the victims of family vlogging started to speak out.
Ryan Kaji became a content creator at just 3-and-a-half years old, launching the toy-review YouTube channel named ‘Ryan’s World’. A viral video of him unboxing over 100 toy cars and planes, which has surpassed 1 billion views, quickly propelled him to global recognition, making him one of the world’s youngest millionaires by age 6.
According to The New York Times, his parents quit their jobs to establish a production company dedicated to managing his growing brand. Today, Ryan’s World boasts over 39.5 million subscribers and has an online store. The channel is largely credited as being the originator of ‘kidfluencing’ on YouTube.
“We just want Ryan to have the most normal childhood possible. When he grows up, I don’t want him to think, ‘I was a YouTuber.’ I want him to think, ‘I had a great childhood’,” says Ryan’s mother on a podcast interview.
As Ryan’s fame and fortune grew, so did public scrutiny. Online critics have questioned whether a truly “normal childhood” is possible when daily life is filmed, monetised, and distributed to millions, raising deeper concerns about consent, labour, and the long-term effects of growing up on camera.
For instance, a case study on kidfluencers highlights that many such young children struggle while remaining tied to their childhood image online.
Nearly a decade after his first viral video, 13-year-old Ryan faces maturation and appears much different from the enthusiastic toddler showing up on his YouTube channel.
Experts also warn that child influencers face an elevated risk of anxiety, depression, and substance use later in life, as their self-esteem becomes deeply tied to external validation.
Children often struggle to grasp the key role of algorithms in determining a video's success. When a post underperforms, young content creators may internalise the outcome, interpreting it as a reflection of their worth or efforts.
The cost of going family viral
Beyond individual influencers, another form of child exploitation have emerged from the phenomenon called ‘family vlogging’. Family vlogs are videos where content creators not only document their day-to-day lives, but also share details about their children’s lives online.
As explained by Shari Franke, who spoke out in her memoir The House of My Mother about the constant surveillance she experienced as the daughter of a mom vlogger, these details included first steps, first teeth, birthdays, embarrassing piano recitals and even going through puberty.
‘‘You couldn’t sneeze without it being immortalized from multiple angles,’’ Shari says in her book.
Her mother shared videos of Shari and her siblings on the YouTube channel ‘8 Passengers’ for seven-and-a-half years. In her memoir, Shari recalls how her mother was “hyperfocused on getting those first one thousand subscribers” and driven to exploit private moments because “This is what people like; this is what makes money. The personal stuff.”
In August 2023, the mother, Ruby Franke, was arrested after one of her malnourished sons escaped from collaborator Jodi Hildebrandt’s home and begged a neighbour for help.
Ruby, who had been accused of withholding food from her children as punishment, was charged days later with six counts of aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to four prison terms of one to 15 years each. 8 Passengers had 2.8 million followers when it got deleted.
As social media views become a primary source of income for some of those families, growing concerns have emerged over whether family vlogging is giving rise to a modern form of child labour.
Both kidfluencing and family vlogging have grown into multibillion-dollar industries. On these platforms, visibility is currency, and that visibility often comes at the expense of a child’s privacy. But what are the legal implications of making young children perform for millions, watched by strangers, without their consent or compensation?
Case law lags behind content trends
Children like Ryan and Shari are earning thousands through sponsorships tied to their social media presence, as parents create and manage their online accounts. While influencing has become a legitimate form of work, existing labour laws have failed to keep pace.
In the US, The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) exempts children under 12 working for family businesses, leaving kidfluencers largely unprotected. With no clear legal safeguards, many remain vulnerable to parental exploitation, financial abuse, and violations of privacy.
In 1939, California introduced Coogan’s Law to protect the earnings of child performers, following the case of Jackie Coogan, a child actor whose parents spent his entire fortune.
The law requires parents to set up a protected trust account in the child’s name in the first week of employment. A minor entertainment work permit must also be obtained within 10 days. Employers are then required to deposit 15 per cent of the child’s gross earnings into the trust account within 15 days of receiving the account details.
While the Coogan Law safeguarded only minors with formal contracts, children featured in social media content remained unprotected due to the absence of such agreements. Amid rising concerns over online child exploitation last year, advocates in several states have pushed for stronger privacy protections and expanded rights for child influencers.
Based on a May 2025 report by the Council of State Governments Southern Office (CSG South), several US states have introduced significant legislative amendments aimed at protecting child influencers:
California: Bill Number: A.B.1880 (2024)
Amends California Family Code to include content creators in the protections for minors in artistic employment, requiring Coogan Trust Accounts for earnings and clarifying employer responsibilities
Illinois: Bill Number: S.B. 3646 (2024)
Mandates the establishment of a trust account for children in the performance arts and vlogging industriesMinnesota: Bill Number: H.F. 3488 (2024)
Mandates compensation and protection for minors involved in online content creation. Provisions include trust accounts, record-keeping, and content removal requests upon reaching adulthoodUtah: Bill Number: H.B. 322 (2025)
Mandates the establishment of trusts for minors involved in entertainment, outlines responsibilities for earnings management, and provides rights for content deletion.
While the US has taken steps towards regulating child influencer labour through state-level reforms, other countries have earlier begun introducing national legislation to fill a similar legal void.
In October 2020, France became one of the first countries to introduce a national law regulating the online commercial use of children’s images. The legislation requires parental authorisation and government approval before minors under 16 can participate in monetised video content deemed a form of labour.
It also addresses the so-called “grey zone,” mandating declarations for children who spend significant time creating content or earn substantial income. Under the law, a portion of the child’s earnings must be placed in a protected savings account, and minors gain the legal right to request content removal, asserting their “right to be forgotten” without parental consent.
Drawing inspiration from France’s Influence Act, Belgium introduced a draft law on September 15, 2023, which seeks to regulate digital influence marketing. The bill aims to ensure transparency in commercial practices and outlines sanctions for non-compliance. Similar to that of France, it allows children to request the deletion of their personal data from digital platforms.
Yet, scholars continue to express concern that current legal frameworks fall short of fully addressing the challenges posed by digital child labour. While recent legislative efforts in the US and Europe mark important progress, the pace of legal reform still lags behind the realities of online exploitation.
On the World Day Against Child Labour, the spotlight must extend to living rooms and screens, where millions of children remain unprotected in the growing marketplace of family content since their stories, and their rights, can no longer be ignored.
