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DENVER, CO – The Colorado House Judiciary Committee today passed bipartisan legislation to ensure children featured in online content can access the money they earned once they reach adulthood. HB26-1058 passed committee unanimously.
“In a digital age, we need to be doing more to prioritize the safety and financial security of children featured in online content,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs. “This bipartisan bill steps up to protect ‘kidfluencers’ by requiring parents to establish a trust for their child when videos earn thousands of dollars. It also provides the right to remove online content once a child reaches adulthood. I’m proud to carry this forward-thinking bill that helps protect the privacy and personal dignity of Coloradans with online content."
HB26-1058, also sponsored by Rep. Scott Slaugh, R-Berthoud, would establish new protections and requirements for children featured in online content, also known as ‘kidfluencers’. To ensure children are paid for their work, parents would be required to establish a trust for their child if the child earns at least $15,000 a year from online content. In addition, the child must be featured in 30-percent or more of monetized content, and the content must earn at least $0.10 per view.
This bill would also allow children featured in monetized online content to request that the videos, pictures or other content be removed from the internet when they reach adulthood. HB26-1058 would prohibit the sexualization of children for financial gain and establish avenues for children to pursue civil action if they are featured in sexualized content. To further stop the sexualization of children, the bill also requires social media platforms to develop and implement strategies that keep children safe.
Similar laws to protect child actors are already in place. Established in the late 1930s, California’s Coogan Law requires the earnings of child performers be placed in a protected trust. If HB26-1058 is signed into law, Colorado would join Illinois, California, Minnesota and Utah in enacting ‘kidfluencer’ protections.