Former Disney star Demi Lovato recently joined California Governor Gavin Newsom as he signed two crucial pieces of legislation aimed at safeguarding child content creators from financial exploitation. According to a press release on Governor Newsom’s website dated Thursday, September 26, 2024, the two newly passed bills are Senator Steve Padilla’s SB 764 and Assembly member Juan Alanis’ AB 1880.
Senator Padilla’s SB 764 requires that parents or guardians of child vloggers must allocate a percentage of their children’s earnings into trust accounts. Meanwhile, Assembly member Juan Alanis’ AB 1880 extends the current Coogan Law (officially the California Child Actor’s Bill) “to encompass minors engaged as content creators on digital platforms, including YouTube.”
The Coogan Law is a legal framework ensuring that employers of child actors or performers “set aside at least 15% of their total earnings in trust until the child reaches adulthood.”
In the press release, Demi Lovato expressed her appreciation to Governor Newsom for the new legislation.
“This update to the Coogan Law will ensure that 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,”she stated.
Demi Lovato directed the documentary Child Star, which highlights the financial exploitation of child actors
In discussing the necessity for these two pieces of legislation, Governor Newsom remarked during his conversation with Demi Lovato that the entertainment landscape has changed significantly since the Coogan Law was enacted. He noted, “With online platforms, social media, and content creators, there exists a glaring gap,”but the new laws would effectively close that “loophole.”
Demi Lovato referred to these laws as “essentially the Coogan Law for the digital age.”The Camp Rock actress has been a strong advocate for the financial security of child actors and performers, particularly highlighted in her directorial debut, Child Star. The documentary, which includes Lovato, centers on the complexities of achieving fame at a young age.
A segment of the film delves into the financial exploitation of child actors. To explore this issue further, she interviewed youth activist Chris McCarty from Quit Clicking Kids, an organization advocating for fair pay and legal protections for minors featured in their parents’ online content.
In a recent conversation with CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister, Demi Lovato reflected on how the entertainment industry has transformed since her early career as a child actor.
“It’s kind of the wild, wild west in the digital age,”she quipped.
Demi Lovato aspires to one day bring these crucial issues to Capitol Hill. Having launched her career in the entertainment industry as a child in the 1990s—even appearing on Barney and Friends and later Disney Channel movies—Lovato has openly discussed her struggles with substance abuse and mental health challenges rooted in her experiences with fame.
This new legislation follows a year after Illinois enacted a bill requiring influencers who feature children under 16 in their content to reserve a percentage of the income generated for a trust fund.
According to CNN, SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland expressed gratitude for the new laws, emphasizing the necessity to protect child performers across any medium.
Child Star is currently streaming on Hulu.
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