TN bill puts money kids make on social media into trusts
New Florida law to restrict certain kids’ social media access
Under this law, regulated social media platforms are prohibited from allowing anyone under 14 to hold an account. It allows minors who are 14 or 15 years old to become account holders, but only with the consent of a parent or guardian.
Fox – 35 Orlando
- Under a proposed bill, Tennessee kids and families who make money off social media would be required to put certain funds into a trust.
- The bill has already passed the state Senate. It now awaits a final vote in the House.
Tennessee children and families who make money from social media videos may soon face restrictions on what they can do with those funds.
A bill that bars children under 14 from monetizing their videos now awaits a final vote in the Tennessee legislature. Kids ages 14-17 who make money off their videos will be required to put the funds into a trust account that they can access once they reach adulthood. The same rule applies for adults who monetize content featuring their children, but only if they meet certain thresholds. The children must be in at least 30% of an account’s monetized content in the span of 30 days, according to the bill. Creators must also make at least $15,000 per year and 10 cents per view from the content.
Bill sponsor Sen. Page Walley, R-Savannah, said the bill is an effort to modernize child labor laws. He said he’s worked with companies like TikTok and Google in crafting the bill.
“Casual family posts are not affected,” Walley said during a March 3 Senate committee hearing on the bill. “I think this is a balanced, modern safeguard to protect children in an evolving digital economy. We don’t have children working in coal mines anymore, but we do have them working in online content.”
State laws allows youth to start working in Tennessee at age 14, with some restrictions.
The trust accounts will be solely accessible to the children once they turn 18. The legislation also allows children to request the removal of content of them as minors once they become adults and authorizes them to take legal action, in some cases.
The bill passed the Senate on March 19 and cleared its last House committee a day prior. A date for a full House vote has not yet been set. So far, the bill has sailed through the legislature with bipartisan support and little opposition.
Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, pushed back at the section of the bill that does not allow children under 14 to monetize their content and keeps children ages 14-17 from accessing proceeds until they’re older. Lamar said she doesn’t see social media content as a form a labor and said the bill is “basically stealing money” from children who have rightfully earned it. Walley argued children under age 14 creating monetized content are “ripe for exploitation,” especially if their families are not aware of their content or supporting them.
Lamar and Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, cast the only votes against the bill across both the House and Senate. Ahead of a March 19 Senate floor vote on the bill, Oliver questioned how it would be enforced. She also said it represents government overreach into the relationship between minors and parents.
“I don’t think it’s the role of government to regulate this type of industry and commerce,” Oliver said.
Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, and Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, abstained from the final Senate vote. The Senate bill passed 29-2. Its House companion is now pending a floor vote.