Over the past year, the public has heard testimony from former child stars including Jeanette McCurdy, Alyson Stoner and Demi Lovato, about how they were exploited by studios and the adults in their lives. In most of these cases, they at least had the ability to go home and take breaks, escaping the cameras and demands of the film industry. Additionally, these stars are guaranteed compensation because their money has to be set aside in a savings account until they are 18, however, they were still under enormous pressure to provide for their families because they were the primary breadwinner.

But what happens to a child when the people exploiting them are both parent and employer? What happens when the camera crew is in their home 24/7 and could film their private moments for content? And what happens to the money they help bring in to the channel by their presence alone?

"Kidfluencers" are children featured either on their parent's social media or have their own dedicated channels. While YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have rules stating that a child cannot have their own page if they're under a certain age (usually 13) these rules are not always enforced, like 8-year-old Ryan of Ryan's World. And in the case of The Ace Family and the 8 Passengers, if the child is featured on the parents' "family channel" the rule is not enforced at all. 

In addition to not enforcing their own rules, Youtube, Instagram and Facebook are not enforcing child labor laws. These children could be on camera for up to 12 hours a day or more, having every moment of their lives filmed. These moments range from seemingly innocent toy reviews, to embarrassingly detailed first period stories or even worse, cruel pranks that border on or are abusive, like in the case of DaddyOFive.

What is also concerning is that these kidfluencers featured on these channels are faced with the same pressure to perform as child stars but there is no guarantee they will ever see the money they help bring in to the channel. There are no contracts drawn up between parents and their children deciding who gets what percentage of the channel because it is assumed that the parent will use the money to provide for their children. However, sponsorships, advertisements and views produce millions of dollars every year for some of these channels and it's just not responsible to  assume the money is being handled appropriately. In the case of The Ace Family, Austin and Catherine McBroom have wasted millions of dollars on business schemes like Social Gloves, potentially leaving nothing for their three children, who have been featured on the channel since birth. 

It can be easy to scoff at these issues and ask questions like "What kid wouldn't want to make millions of dollars off of playing with toys?". But if the kid is being filmed 24/7 and is not actually seeing any of those millions, it's no longer play, it's exploitation. This is why I am calling on the US Depart of Labor, Youtube, Instagram and Facebook to begin enforcing child labor laws on the families of these kidfluencers, beginning with requiring that children under the age of 16 can only be filmed up to 3 hours a day and that their guardians have to place money aside in a saving's account until they are 18 years old.