Former Disney star Demi Lovato met with California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday as he signed into law two pieces of legislation to ensure children and teenagers who perform in online content are protected from financial abuse.
Lovato, who starred in Disney movies including “Camp Rock” and “Princess Protection Program” and is the subject of the Hulu documentary “Child Star,” championed the two new bills:
SB 764 (Padilla) establishes financial and legal protections for minors featured in monetized online content by mandating their parent or guardian set aside a percentage of their earnings in trust accounts.
AB 1880 (Alanis) expands the Coogan Law to include minors who are employed as content creators on online platforms, such as YouTube. The Coogan Law, which dates back t0 1939, protects child performers and creators by ensuring that their employers place at least 15 percent of their gross earnings in trust until they reach adulthood. It was named after child star Jackie Coogan, who appeared in films with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
“Child Star,” which marked Lovato’s directorial debut, is co-directed by Nicola Marsh and produced by Michael D. Ratner, Scott Ratner, Miranda Sherman, and Kfir Goldberg for OBB Pictures.
It follows child stars from classic Hollywood child stars Shirley Temple to modern social media influencers.
The film highlights the advocacy efforts of Chris McCarty (they/them), founder and Executive Director of Quit Clicking Kids, a group advocating for children to receive fair compensation and legal protections when they are featured in their parents’ social media content.
Lovato and Newsom discussed the new child protections on this week’s Politickin’ podcast with hosts Marshawn Lynch and Doug Hendrickson.
Newsom also recently signed a bill to protect actors from having their likenesses copied by AI without their knowledge.
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