By measuring the market of influence will appear from the $ 31 billion that we have done More than $120 billion US over the next five yearsSome governments have responded to the increase in funding to obtain regulations to protect Kidfluencers, children who become online celebrities and brand ambassadors.
This week, the EU announced plans to ban social media platforms from providing financial or material incentives for Kidflouncing as part of A wide range of measures the EU believes will protect minors online.
And the top kidfluencers in the world Earning millions a yearLeaders in the European Parliament are concerned that the collapse of sponsorship deals could tempt some parents to pressure their children to act regularly with homemade pictures and videos.
While a few countries and the United States have started on the laws surrounding their implementation, some experts suggest that bans that work well may not be the best way to protect children, and they point out that -how much Countries have no legal protection at all for Kidfluencers, including Canada.
The regulation is excessive
The EUS proposal includes Following Australia’s lead When he prevents children under the age of 16 from any social media account without parental consent, and do not allow accounts at all for children under the age of 13.
Voices from inside and outside the influencer industry are telling CBC News that laws to protect kidfluencers have been broken in Canada and around the world.
“The regulation is welcome,” said Samuel Dahan, an associate professor at Queen’s University School of Law. “It should have happened 10 years ago.”
“There should be rules and regulations,” said Rossana Burgos, better known as mama bee we The bee family (once home to this EH bee)a family of influencers from Thornhill, i.e., who started in social media in 2013 and He quickly rose to fame.
Within a few years of making videos with her husband and two children, Burgos said relationships with brands from Disney to WalMart allowed them to quit their jobs and create great live content that involved the whole family on camera together.
Burgos says they never pressured the kids to do it, and the videos were shot after school and activities.
He also says that after the family started making money, they started a company that each owned 25 percent and shared the income equally.
Today, his children are adults trying to start careers as musicians.
Now, he says that a large number of children are being dragged in front of the cameras to model clothes and try on products with his problem.
“From day one, we have always said that this needs to be looked into, said Burgo.” You can’t let anyone with a camera start filming kids without answering. ”
Are you banned from the best program?
One big supporter of the ban of Kidfuencers is Karim S. Leduc, CEO of Montreal, an agency that manages more than 1,000 clients, partners, athletes, gamers, influencers.
“I think it should be banned,” he said. “Brands are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars. Who’s to say that a financially strapped parent won’t see that as an opportunity to earn extra money, and give well to their child?”
Kara Brisson-boivin, director of research at Media Smarts, Ottawa’s Not-Forfered Center is dedicated to digital engagement with media, He says he believes the ban “will protect children from being used to develop or bring in various amounts of money in various ways.”
However, he sees another side to the possible ban, that is, “and we do not want to block or limit the scope of children’s art, or to limit the independence of children.”
Although Burgo accepts the regulation, he also says that he cannot say that he can steal after the ban.
He says that some parents can create a safe environment for their children, and that the rise of social media has given other people the power to create.
Legal and technical challenges
Dahan, an Associate Professor at Queen’s Law, raises other issues with Kidfluencer’s ban, which he says may be overblown.
“The fact that the workplace is a home makes it very difficult for a strong engagement,” he said, noting that automating and finding content can also be a challenge.
He adds to the story of “What really makes up a child’s limit?” And even if a parent who shows their children from time to time in the positions posted online will be breaking the law.
Australia has issued a ban on social media for children under the age of 16, passing the country’s first law through Parliament. Many parents celebrate the move, but social media companies say it is urgent.
Other Canadian options can be considered
While the EU is looking to ban Kidflancing again The state of Minnesota already does it for children under 14, There are other ways to protect children.
In 2020, France changed its labor laws to give children that 16 protected actors caused by Kidlfluencer to rely on up to 7,000 euros and five years in prison.
In the US, Illinois, California and Utah have made laws to ensure that parents of Kidfluencers receive until they are adults.
Canada has no specific laws regarding Kidlfuencers, and the Cyber Injury Act introduced by the Federal government in 2024 did not appreciate it. (It didn’t pass, because of the called election.)
For Leduc, treating them as baby makers “would be a good first step [the] right orientation to protect them from over exploitation. ”
Dahan agrees to accept the legal framework of child actors to be pragmatic because “Sometimes as lawyers we want to return the wheel.”
The Brussels result and what happens next
The EU has yet to issue and pass actual legislation for banflancing.
Dahan, who worked for the EU in the past, says that if the law is passed it could force other countries and companies to make changes.
“The digital regulation of the EU often amends international standards,” he said.
In the same way that Apple has abandoned the Lightning Port for its devices everywhere after the EU law Limited charging connector, Internet platforms may choose to have regular children of Kidlfluencers or social media access to children around the world.
“That’s what we call the Brussels touch,” Dahan said.
