California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills Thursday to protect the earnings of child influencers and content creators.
Newsom signed SB 764, a bill that requires content creators whose content features at least 30% children to set aside a proportionate percentage of their earnings in minors trusts.
State Sen. Steve Padilla originally introduced SB 764 in December after passage of a similar bill for Protect the earnings of child influencers in Illinois In August 2023.
Newsom also signed AB 1880, introduced by Assemblyman Juan Alanis, which expands the Coogan Act to include minors appearing in monetized online content. The Coogan Act of 1939 protects children’s entertainment by requiring parents to put 15% of the minor’s earnings into a trust.
More states passed laws in hopes of protecting child content creators.
“In old Hollywood, child actors were exploited,” Newsom said in a news release on Thursday. “In 2024, it’s now child influencers. Today, modern exploitation ends with two new laws to protect young influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms.”
He was accompanied by pop star and former Disney Channel actor Demi Lovato recently screened a documentary about the effects of fame on a child entertainer’s well-being.
In an episode of the documentary Child Star, Lovato raises questions and interviews experts about the lack of protections for child influencers, especially compared to child actors in traditional entertainment.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 150,000 film and television performers, praised Newsom for expanding protections.
“All child performers, regardless of medium or platform, should be strongly protected,” Crabtree-Ireland said.