TRENTON, N.J. – A New Jersey Senate panel has advanced legislation that would require parents and caregivers who earn money through social media content featuring their children to set aside part of those earnings for the minors’ future use.
The Senate Labor Committee on May 12 approved Senate Bill 3183 with amendments, sending the measure forward for full consideration. The proposal is designed to ensure minors appearing in monetized online videos are compensated for their participation.
The measure parallels Assembly Bill 4302 and would be the first of its kind in New Jersey, reflecting growing concern over the unregulated world of “family vlogging” and child social media appearances.
Key Points
- Senate Bill 3183 requires vloggers to compensate minors featured in monetized online videos.
- Parents or caregivers must deposit the child’s share of gross earnings into a trust account until adulthood.
- The measure exempts these minors from traditional child labor hour restrictions but mandates detailed record-keeping.
Protecting minors in the influencer economy
Under the proposal, any vlogger under the age of 16 is considered to be “engaged in work” if their likeness, name, or image appears in at least 30 percent of a creator’s paid video content within a 30-day period. Compensation triggers also apply if a video meets a platform’s payment threshold or earns at least ten cents per view.
Parents or guardians earning revenue from such content would be required to deposit a percentage of those gross earnings into a trust account for the minor’s benefit, accessible only when the child reaches adulthood. The amount set aside must equal at least half of the portion of the content in which the child appears.
Ensuring accountability and transparency
The bill mandates that vloggers maintain detailed financial and participation records for all minors featured in their monetized videos and provide those records to the minors on an ongoing basis. It further clarifies definitions, including expanding the term “name” to cover nicknames or assumed identities intended to identify the child.
The legislation exempts minors participating in vlogs from certain state labor restrictions such as working hour limits, recognizing that much of this work occurs in domestic or informal settings rather than traditional workplaces.
Bipartisan momentum behind the bill
The measure is sponsored by Senators and Assembly members across party lines, signaling rare bipartisan support for addressing child protections in the social media era. With similar bills emerging in states like Illinois and California, New Jersey’s proposal follows a national trend toward regulating how online creators use minors in monetized content.
If enacted, the law would create financial safeguards for children featured in digital media productions and set standards for fair compensation within one of the fastest-growing segments of online entertainment.
