With a so-called Child YouTuber Law, France are showing the way towards protecting our children from digital child labour. Child influencers – often run by their parents – is a growing phenonomen.
For years children have been protected by law towards child labour within legislation worldwide. UN and UNESCO among others are having children within their reach. But no laws – according to Politico – have yet been passed in relation to adults making profit from the use of children within movies and still pictures on the Internet.
But things can be changing – beginning with France. A law that will protect French children against child labour on the Internet are close to being passed. This, in the same way as children acting or children modelling are protected by law. The new legislation is being passed for the French Senate for a second reading and we can only wait and hope for it to pass a final vote. Since it could have an effect on the rest of the European youngsters. A Europe, where the politicians are way to passive when in come to protecting our children on all the digitale platform, that have come into life for the last decade.
The Child Youtubver Law will be covering all social platform and will in practice mean that adults and parents can be fined or even prisoned, up to 5 years, if they publish pictures or movies of minors below the age of 16 without the right permission and purpose of monetization.
We owe it to our children to look into the digital future and protect them against child labour on all platforms. An issue I am sure, we will hear more about in the near future. So, let’s follow France.
There is not a similar law in Denmark, but according to the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, it is a violation of the Marketing Law, if a company pays children under 13 in order to make them talk about or mention their products. So, using child influencers is not only unethical, it is also illegal – though not with as tough sanctions as the proposed French law.
