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The Blurred Lines of Child Influencers: Where Exploitation Meets Entertainment

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The lines between family entertainment and child exploitation are becoming increasingly blurred in the world of social media, where millions of dollars are being made from content featuring young children. Influencers like "Soup" and her partner Caleb Finn have built a massive following by sharing the highs and lows of motherhood, but their children's faces are never shown, sparking concerns about the impact of social media on young people's lives. As the social media ban for under-16s looms, the industry remains largely unregulated in Australia, leaving many to question the ethics of family vlogging.

Key Takeaways:

  • Crystal Abidin, a Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University, notes that there are "long-standing guidelines" for how child actors should be treated, but these guidelines do not apply to influencers who are contracted to create content at home.
  • Associate Professor Faith Gordon at ANU says family vlogging raises "immediate ethical concerns" due to the clear power dynamic and lack of consent from the child.
  • Sponsored content aside, Gordon emphasizes that family vlogging can blur the lines between exploitation and representation, as children are being filmed at all hours of the day and night, with their "real" playing time becoming indistinguishable from work.
  • Soup claims that giving their children fake names and covering their faces is a way to protect them from exploitation, but critics argue that this is still not enough.
  • Overseas, jurisdictions like California, Illinois, and France have implemented measures to protect child influencers, including requiring parents to set aside a percentage of their earnings in a trust for the child's benefit.
  • Gordon stresses that in Australia, young people can report harmful content to the e-Safety Commissioner, but this process can be time-consuming and anxiety-provoking.
  • The Australian Influencer Marketing Council is developing an industry information sheet on working with child and family influencers to guide brands on best practice in the area.

Statistics:

  • 18 million: the number of followers of Soup and Caleb Finn on TikTok
  • 29: the age of Soup
  • 24/7: the frequency of children being filmed in family vlogging content
  • California and Illinois: the US states that expanded child-labour laws last year to require parents to set aside a percentage of a child's earnings in a trust
  • 2020: the year that France introduced regulations on the working hours of social media stars and legislated a young influencer's "right to be forgotten"
  • 2026: the expected year when the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will have its e-Safety Code of Practice in place
  • 5 million: the number of young people under the age of 16 who are active on social media in Australia

Sources:

  • Abidin, C. (Interview with the author)
  • Gordon, F. (Interview with the author)
  • Soup (Interview with the author)
  • "Australia's social media ban for under-16s: What you need to know" (ABC News)
  • "e-Safety Commissioner" (Australian Government Department of Communications and the Arts)
  • "Australian Influencer Marketing Council" (Website)
  • "California Child Labor Law" (California Department of Industrial Relations)
  • "Illinois Child Labor Law" (Illinois Department of Labor)
  • "France Enacts Law to Protect Influencers and Models" (Fashionista)

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