At age 13, I accidentally scrolled into tech policy. While watching YouTube, I discovered child influencers—children with large online followings who are often exploited by their parents for views. I saw many kids forced into videos, filmed without consent, and stripped of privacy. When I realized there were no laws protecting them, I took action.
I wrote a legal memo outlining my legislation, and I reached out to (read: cold-called) every member of the Illinois Senate to find a sponsor. Finally, in 2023, I got the attention of Illinois State Senator David Koehler. We filed SB1782, the nation’s first law protecting kidfluencers. In March 2023, I testified for the bill in the Senate Labor Committee. The bill passed out of committee unanimously, and became Illinois law in August 2023.
Since then, I’ve worked with engineers at Meta and Google to develop screening tools that help minors request removal of exploitative online content. My advocacy has been featured by The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, and I’ve passed similar legislation in 8 states, including California and Utah.
After seeing a clip of a YouTuber forcing her child to cry on camera for views, I stumbled into the world of child influencers. Family vloggers are content creators who document their family's daily life online, often making their children a central and recurring feature of their channel's content. What I found shocked me: I saw children coerced into making videos, filmed during vulnerable moments, and stripped of their privacy. When I realized that no states had any laws protecting them, I took action.
Armed with a legal dictionary and copious amounts of Googling, I began researching child labor and digital privacy law so I could advocate for stronger protections.
I designed original legislation establishing compensation requirements for child influencers and granting them the right to remove content featuring them once they reached adulthood.
I met with policymakers at the Illinois Department of Labor and journalists at TechCrunch to gather feedback and refine my proposal.
I wrote a legal memo outlining the problem, explaining my bill, and analyzing its impact on existing Illinois labor laws—all using a template I found online. Then, I cold-emailed every senator in the Illinois State Senate (yes, every one) in search of a sponsor.
The proposal was dropped twice, but I eventually connected with State Senator Dave Koehler, who agreed to sponsor it. Together, we filed SB1782—the nation's first bill protecting child influencers!
I traveled to the Illinois State Capitol to testify before the Illinois Senate Labor Committee, fielding questions from lawmakers and speaking with reporters. The bill passed unanimously out of committee and the full Illinois State Senate!
I began navigating a wave of national media attention, including coverage from outlets like CNN, CBS, and Good Morning America. As momentum grew, I worked with policy and engineering teams at companies like Meta and Google to create implementation strategies for the law across major social media platforms.
After clearing the Illinois House of Representatives, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB1782 into law, making Illinois the first state to protect child influencers!
Since then, I've helped introduce similar legislation in 15 other states and pass it in 9, including California and Utah. Along the way, I've spoken at conferences, testified before legislatures across the country, and collaborated with advocates, lawmakers, and technology companies to expand protections nationwide!