Lawmakers in Illinois are considering new legislation to protect child social media influencers. The bill will allow child influencers under 16 to receive a percentage of their earnings based on the number of times the child appears in a video blog or online content that earns a minimum of 10 cents per view. To qualify, the content would have to be created in Illinois, and children would have to appear in at least 30% of the content in 30 days. Video bloggers would be responsible for keeping records of the children's appearances and would be required to place gross earnings in a trust account for the child when they turn 18. Otherwise, the child could sue.

The state senate unanimously approved the bill in March, and is up for consideration in the state house this week. The Illinois bill is primarily modelled on California's 1939 Jackie Coogan law, named after the child actor of the silent film era who sued his parents for squandering his earnings. Several states now have Coogan laws, requiring parents to set aside a portion of child entertainers' earnings for adulthood.

Illinois' bill underwent several changes during the legislative session, including removing a provision that would have allowed child entertainers to request the removal of content once they reached the age of 18 and the requirement that family vloggers register their channels.