Should Kidfluencer be banned? This is the plan in the European Union
The influencer market is estimated to grow by US$31 billion Over US$120 billion over the next five yearsSome governments are responding to growing demands for regulations to protect kidfluencers, children who have become online celebrities and brand ambassadors.
This week, the European Union announced plans to ban social media platforms from providing financial or material incentives for kidfluencing The EU believes a wide range of measures will protect minors online,
With the world’s top kidfluencers earn millions a yearEuropean Parliament leaders are concerned that the lure of lucrative sponsorship deals could lead some parents to pressure their children to constantly pose for homemade photos and videos.
While some countries and US states have created laws regarding their labor, some experts suggest that banning kidfluencers may not actually be the best approach to protect children, and point out that many Many countries, including Canada, have no specific legal protections for kidfluencers.
regulation overdue
The EU proposal includes After Australia’s lead Prohibiting any social media accounts for children under 16 without parental consent, and not allowing any social media accounts for children under 13.
Voices inside and outside the influencer industry told CBC News that legislation is pending to protect kidfluencers in Canada and around the world.
“Regulation is certainly welcome,” said Samuel Dahan, associate professor at Queen’s University Faculty of Law. “This should have happened 10 years ago.”
“There should be rules and regulations,” said Rosana Burgos, known as Mama B. Bee family (formerly Eh bee family)A family of influencers from Thornhill, Ontario, who broke out on social media in 2013 and quickly gained fame,
Within a few years of making videos with her husband and two children, Burgos said that partnerships with brands ranging from Disney to Walmart allowed her to quit her job and make a good living mostly by producing content featuring the entire family together on camera.
Burgos says he never pressured the children to perform and that the videos were shot after school and during activities.
She also says that when the family started earning money, they started a company, making each of them a 25 percent owner and sharing the revenues equally.
Today, his children are adults and trying to start careers as musicians.
Now, she says the large number of children being taken in front of the camera to model clothes and try out products worries her.
“From day one, we’ve always said this needs to be monitored. You can’t just let anyone start filming kids with a camera without being held accountable,” Burgos said.
Are sanctions the best plan?
A big supporter of the ban on Kidfunders is Karim S. Leduc, CEO of Montreal-based Dulcedo, a talent agency that manages more than 1,000 clients, including actors, athletes, gamers, influencers and models, though very few are children.
“I think it should be banned,” he said. “Brands are willing to pay thousands of dollars. Who’s to say that parents who are struggling with finances won’t see this as a welcome opportunity to earn extra money, and sacrifice their child’s well-being?”
Cara Brisson-Boivin, Research Director, Media Smarts An Ottawa-based non-profit center dedicated to digital and media literacy. She says she believes the ban will “protect children from being used in various ways to develop or bring in income.”
However, she sees another side to the potential restriction, which is that, “We don’t want to stifle or limit children’s creativity, or limit children’s autonomy.”
Although Burgos welcomes the regulation, she also says she cannot stand behind the ban.
She says that few parents can create a safe environment for their children and that the rise of social media has given individuals more creative power.
Legal and technical challenges
Dahan, Associate Professor at Queen’s Law, has raised other issues about the kidfluencer ban, which he says may be overly ambitious.
“The fact that the workplace is home makes it very complex from an enforcement standpoint,” he said, noting that automatically identifying the content can also be challenging.
He added that the issue is “what is really impacting children?” And could any parent who occasionally features their children in a sponsored online post be breaking the law?
Australia has passed the world’s first law through its parliament banning social media for children under 16. Many parents are celebrating the move, but social media companies say it was rushed.
Other Options Canada May Consider
While the EU is considering a ban on influencing children The state of Minnesota has already done this for children under 14, There are other options for protecting Kidfluencer.
In 2020, France changed its labor laws to give kidfluencers the same protections that child actors or models under the age of 16 receive in the country, including limited work hours and the majority of their earnings being held in trust for them until they turn 18. Anyone recording Kidfluencer for a sponsored post is also required to have government permission or risk a fine of up to 75,000 euros and five years in prison.
In the US, Illinois, California and Utah have laws designed to ensure that parents save children’s earnings until they reach adulthood.
There are no specific laws regarding kidfluencers in Canada, and Online Harm Act They were not included in the proposal presented by the federal government in 2024. (It did not pass because an election was called.)
For Leduc, treating them like child actors would be “a huge first step in the right direction of protecting them from extreme exploitation.”
Dahan agrees that it may be more practical for child actors to adopt the legal framework for influencing children because “sometimes as lawyers we want to re-invent the wheel.”
The Brussels effect and what happens next
The EU has yet to draft and pass actual legislation to ban child abuse.
Dahan, who previously worked for the EU, says that if the law is passed it could force other countries and companies to make changes.
“EU digital regulation shapes global standards,” he said.
In the same way that Apple abandoned the Lightning port for its devices everywhere after EU law required it a standardized charging connector, Online platforms can opt for a common standard Kidfluencer or social media access for children around the world.
“It’s what we call the Brussels effect,” Dahan said.
