NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One Tennessee lawmaker is pushing to create protections for child online influencers through legislation that would put age limits on posting for a profit and ensure parents don’t pocket all the cash.
Influencing is a $35 billion industry worldwide, according to the Digital Marketing Institute, but Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) told News 2 when kids are involved, it becomes a form of child labor.
“We’re not talking about kids in coal mines and sweatshops, but we are talking about kids who are being asked to participate by adults in content creation and performance in this kind of new entertainment and information economy,” Walley said.
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Walley’s bill would ban children under 14 from creating content online for money, and require parents who feature their children 14 and older in their content, to put a portion of the earnings into a trust for their child to access when they’re older.
“If they’re going to be profiting off of this child, there are some child labor statutes already on the books that we’re very guarded about in allowing children to participate,” Walley added. “While this doesn’t sound like sweatshops or coal mines or those kinds of dangerous environments, we really just want to get ahead of it.”
In addition, the legislation would give the child the power to sue their parents if they don’t comply, and would require parents and/or adults who posted content of a child under 14 to delete the content if requested.
Walley told News 2 the bill would be enforced just like any other child labor violation, and the state could potentially use artificial intelligence to monitor influencers to ensure they’re following the law.
Several other states have passed similar legislation, including California, Illinois, and Minnesota.
“Other states have taken action on it, and it might be worth us at least considering,” Walley said.
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Having spent the majority of his career working for and leading organizations involving children, including briefly serving as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), Walley said his passion to protect children is personal.
“Anything that begins to put children in the line of possible exploitation, abuse, neglect, it raises a red flag for me,” Walley expressed. “I just want to make sure we’re aware and we know what we’re doing, because we’re the guardians of our children’s wellbeing, and it’s worth pausing and saying, ‘Is this something to be concerned about?’”
Walley has not selected a House sponsor for the bill yet. If passed, the legislation would go into effect July 1, 2026.
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