COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — There are laws in Ohio to protect the earnings of child actors who appear on stage or in television shows. Now, some Democratic state lawmakers want laws to establish similar rules for so-called “kidfluencers”, children whose performances make money via social media websites.
Alyson Stoner, a Toledo area native, was a child actor for several Disney TV shows in the early 2000s. Stoner said much of the money they earned had been mismanaged and was unavailable to them when they became an adult. But they and other child actors are typically part of the actors union SAG-AFTRA. Stoner said that, along with laws on the books affecting child labor, protected part of their earnings.

“Profit and public attention can have an impact on someone’s behavior,” said Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) is a co-sponsor of the bill. “Anyone can get caught up in social media – the likes and the clicks. That’s ok. But what we can’t do is monetize children at the expense of their childhood.”
In August 2023, Illinois became the first and only state to pass similar legislation.