Regulating Minors in Digital Spaces
Addison Fouts
Associate Editor
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2027
With the digital age, young children are gaining access to social media accounts. Child influencers are being put into the spotlight before they can understand the impact a lack of privacy can have on their lives. Children cannot meaningfully consent to having a digital footprint, states have a compelling interest in regulating child participation online. These legal safeguards are necessary for both the financial and psychological health of children in digital spaces. Just as states have long regulated child labor in the entertainment industry, the modern regulation of social media should provide the same protection for minors on social media.
Increased Presence of Children Online Creates Need for Regulation
Although 13 is the youngest legal age to sign up for a social media account, a study done in 2023 by the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy found that 40% of children ages 8-12 have accounts. Social media can be a fun way to connect with friends and family, but it can also have dangerous effects on developing minds. Children are exposed to cyberbullying, social comparison, and public scrutiny at a developmental stage where identity and self-worth are still forming. An additional study from Cleveland Clinic found that teens who use social media for three or more hours per day double their risk for anxiety and depression. Unlike prior generations, today’s children are growing up in an environment where their mistakes, insecurities, and private moments can be posted for the world to see. These alarming statistics demonstrate the growing need to protect minors online.
Several states are looking into, and passing, regulations regarding ‘child influencers’ on social media. Utah shows that regulations can protect minors’ dignity online, as well as their financial health. In March 2025, Utah passed HB 322 into law, which outlines “Child Actor Regulations.” Although the name suggests children must be “actors” to be protected under this law, HB 322 protects all children in the entertainment space, including online. The provision requires parents who make at least $150,000 per year from their social media accounts to keep strict documentation of when their children are featured in their posts for at least two years. Additionally, they must set up a trust for the minor children and calculate payments accordingly. HB 322 also includes a process for petitioning the court to erase content from the internet if the child chooses. This gives child influencers more autonomy and addresses the reputational harm and privacy concerns they face when being featured in content.
Illinois extends the Coogan Model to digital spaces
In 2023, Illinois was the first state to pass a law to protect child influencers. The Illinois law focuses on the financial health of minors rather than the privacy side. The law requires parents of child influencers to set aside earnings in a trust for the child. The amount set aside is based on how often the child is featured in content, including stories told about them. Additionally, the law applies to children who are 16 years old or younger, and are featured in at least 30% of the content. This is similar to the Coogan Act, which was the first legislation to protect child performers financially by requiring 15% of a child performer’s earnings to stay in a trust until they turn 18. Like traditional Coogan laws protecting child actors, Illinois’ trust requirement recognizes that children featured in social media content deserve financial safeguards too.
While financial protections are crucial, regulation of child influencers must also address privacy and autonomy. Unlike traditional entertainment roles, social media content documents everything, from a child’s everyday life and medical issues to their emotional breakdowns and embarrassing moments. The permanence of digital content can force a child to live with an online persona they did not create and cannot control. Even if the child is posting content themselves, they cannot fully understand the permanency of the posts, the reputational harm they may experience, or the future consequences they may have. Digital spaces have created a new form of child labor that existing laws were not designed to address. Just as legislatures adopted labor laws to protect traditional child actors, states must now adapt and create laws to address child protection on social media.
State legislatures should continue building on these early efforts by adopting comprehensive protections that address both the financial and personal interests of minors online. Clear standards for compensation, privacy rights, and content removal would help ensure that children are not exploited for profit while still allowing for safe participation in digital spaces.