Edited by Rumaysa Jahanzeb, Sofia Meinardus, and Sara Hayes
Abstract
The rapid rise of child influencers on social media has outpaced existing U.S. legal protections, leaving minors vulnerable to exploitation, privacy violations, and financial mismanagement. This note contends that current federal statutes— particularly the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—fail to account for the realities of digital labor directed by parents. Through analysis of case law and constitutional doctrine, this paper argues for targeted reforms that expand privacy safeguards, regulate monetized content creation as child labor, and impose oversight on parental authority in commercial contexts. Unlike prior literature, which often stops at general calls for reform, this note offers concrete legal solutions that are narrowly tailored to withstand First and Fourteenth Amendment challenges. By bridging doctrinal gaps, these reforms aim to establish a sustainable legal framework that protects child influencers while respecting family autonomy and free expression.
