Demi Lovato is making sure child influencers are getting the financial protection they deserve.
The “La La Land” singer met with California Governor Gavin Newsom this week as he signed into law two pieces of legislation to ensure children and teenagers who perform in online content are protected from financial abuse. Per Newsom’s website, SB 764 (Padilla) establishes “financial and legal protections for minors featured in monetized online content (i.e., child vloggers) by mandating their parent or guardian set aside a percentage of their earnings in trust accounts.” Meanwhile, AB 1880 (Alanis) “expands the Coogan Law to include minors who are employed as content creators on online platforms, such as YouTube. The Coogan Law is a decades-old statutory scheme that protects child performers and creators by ensuring that their employers place at least 15 percent of their gross earnings in trust till they reach adulthood.”
Lovato shared in a press statement, “In order to build a better future for the next generation of child stars, we need to put protections in place for minors working in the digital space. I’m grateful to Governor Newsom for taking action with this update to the Coogan Law that will ensure children featured on social media are granted agency when they come of age and are properly compensated for the use of their name and likeness.”
Protection for minors in entertainment is a topic that hits close to home for Lovato. Earlier this month, Lovato unveiled her Hulu documentary, Child Star, which works to “deconstruct the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight through the lens of some of the world’s most famous former child stars,” per the corresponding press release.
In the project, they recruited fellow childhood stars including Drew Barrymore, Kenan Thompson, Christina Ricci, Raven-Symoné, JoJo Siwa, Alyson Stoner and more, and they reflect on their careers, including struggles with substance abuse, societal pressure and more.
