Family content can be lovely. It's also where the law is moving fastest.
France (the pioneer). Law n° 2020-1266 of 19 October 2020 (in force April 2021) covers children under 16 who are the main subject of video content:
- Above set time or income thresholds, parents must declare the activity, or get prior authorisation where it's employment.
- Earnings above the threshold are held by the Caisse des dépôts until the child turns 18.
- Children can request erasure of their content without parental consent.
- Platforms must remove content on request.
- The 2023 influencer law extends child-labour protections to under-16s used in commercial influence, and requires parents to sign contracts.
- A further 2024 law strengthened children's image rights Check in-app.
United States (state by state)
- Illinois (from 1 July 2024): vloggers must put a share of earnings into a trust for minors who feature in compensated content, and keep records. Minors can sue if this isn't done.
- Minnesota (from 1 July 2025): similar trust rules, plus a ban on under-14s "engaging in the work of content creation", and a right to have content deleted.
- More states, including California, have passed or proposed similar laws Check in-app. Check yours.
Spain and Italy: the 2025 Autocontrol code requires contracts with explicit parental consent for minor influencers. AGCOM's code tells relevant influencers to assess and limit impact on minors.
Canada: Ad Standards asks for age-appropriate disclosures when children are the audience.
Good practice everywhere
- Get your child's genuine consent as they get older.
- Never share school, location or routine details.
- Keep a separate account for their earnings.
- Think about how they'll feel about the post at 16.