In The Patriot Post’s stomping grounds of Tennessee, a bill that seeks to protect children from social media exploitation by their influencer parents is working its way to Governor Bill Lee’s desk.

Senate Bill 1469 is a child labor law, of sorts. It stipulates that if a parent monetizes a video in which a child under 14 appears or is featured, the parent may be fined up to $2,000.

If said child is over the age of 14, he or she would be entitled to a portion of the money earned. That money would then be placed in a trust and disbursed once the child turns 18. Additionally, the new 18-year-old has the right to demand that the video be permanently deleted.

The bill also allows minors ages 14 to 17 to make videos and keep all their earnings.

SB 1469 is not casually going after parents who post videos with their kids. Rather, it targets parents who make their living as social media influencers by featuring their kids.

This is a very good piece of legislation. Parents should exercise great caution when putting their children’s images online for anyone on the planet to see, and they should certainly not do so without regard for those kids’ interests. That is reckless in the age of technology because even an innocent image or video of your child online can set them up for a slew of harms. As just one example, perverts can use artificial intelligence to make pornography from those images or videos. In my estimation, the risk of putting your child’s image publicly online far outweighs the benefits.

Predictably, social media influencers in the Volunteer State are furious. Many of them fled California because of that state’s red tape and taxes. Tennessee, which has no income tax, seemed like a Mecca of sorts. But SB 1469 now threatens their livelihoods to the point that many say they will likely need to move out of state. To which I say, “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.”

Ironically, California itself has a version of this law in place, ensuring that minors who appear in monetized videos are compensated. California is no stranger to child actors, which means it is familiar with how children can be heavily exploited by their parents if not properly protected by the law. On the whole, though, California’s law is much more lenient than the legislation here in Tennessee.

SB 1469, soon to become law, is a wonderful thing for our state and our children in particular. To us Tennesseans, the economic benefit an influencer brings is not worth our children’s safety.