Trendy Bambini

The videos look like play. A child opens a box of toys, tries on a sequined jacket, dances in front of a ring light. The parents hold the camera. Millions watch. Bruno Studer, a member of France's National Assembly, spent two years trying to figure out where the line falls between family fun and child labor.

Studer introduced a bill in 2019 aimed at what he called a "grey zone." Some children featured in online videos were not technically employees. They had no contracts. They received no wages in their own names. But they spent hours each week filming content that generated substantial advertising revenue. Their parents collected the checks.

The French parliament adopted the law unanimously on October 6, 2020. President Emmanuel Macron signed it thirteen days later. Under the new rules, children under 16 appearing in monetized videos must be registered with labor authorities. Their working hours are now limited. A portion of their earnings goes into a protected account at the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, accessible only when the child turns 16.

Studer pointed to the scale of the problem. Some French child influencers were earning up to 150,000 euros per month. Brands shipped free products. Advertising deals multiplied. The parents managed everything. The children, in many cases, had no legal claim to the money they helped generate.

The 2019 Forbes list put a number on the phenomenon. Ryan Kaji, an eight-year-old from Texas, earned $26 million that year reviewing toys on his YouTube channel. He had topped the same list the previous year at $22 million. His channel, Ryan's World, had accumulated 23 million subscribers by filming him opening boxes and playing with what was inside.

Caroline Andre-Hesse, Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association's Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee, identified three concerns about child influencers. The first involves privacy. The second involves compensation. The third involves who decides when the child stops working. Under traditional child modeling contracts, agencies maintain records and parents sign agreements with specific terms. Social media dispensed with the paperwork.

The French law requires video-sharing platforms to adopt charters promoting responsible use of children's images. Children gained a right to request deletion of their own content without parental consent. Penalties for violations can reach 75,000 euros and five years' imprisonment.

Other jurisdictions took notice. Illinois passed an amendment to its child labor laws in August 2023. Children under 16 featured in online content are now guaranteed a percentage of resulting profits, held in trust until they turn 18. The law took effect in July 2024.

California had existing protections for child performers dating back to 1939, after Jackie Coogan's parents spent his entire fortune from his acting career. The original Coogan Law required trust accounts for child actors. The state updated these rules in 1999 and again in recent years to address social media.

The platforms themselves remain difficult to regulate. Studer acknowledged that French authorities cannot penalize companies for hosting videos of children who lack work permits because the content is not illegal. The law targets parents and companies that hire child influencers, not the distribution channels.

Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission in 2019 alleging that Ryan's World failed to properly disclose sponsored content. The organization claimed around 90 percent of the channel's videos contained at least one paid product placement aimed at viewers too young to distinguish reviews from commercials.

Andre-Hesse noted the limits of the French approach. Outside the thresholds set by the law, a child's work remains subject to parental discretion. The state can issue recommendations about health, safety, and working hours, but enforcement depends on clear violations. Family vlogging accounts, where children appear alongside parents in daily life content, occupy yet another grey zone.