YouTube has a major child labor problem. Just read Amy Kaufman and Jessica Gelt’s recent Times investigation into the lawsuit facing YouTube star Piper Rockelle and her mother, Tiffany Smith.
Instagram and TikTok have child labor problems too, as do any social media platforms from which children (and their parents) derive income.
As should be self-evident, when people make money on these platforms, “social” takes a backseat to “media.”
When kids make money by producing content for a media company in California, they are — or should be — protected by the state’s laws, which mandate, among other things, limited hours, on-site education and a state-licensed teacher or social worker present on set at all times.
