Author of Social Media Child Performer Protections Introduces the “Right to Delete” Legislation Furthering Online Privacy Guardrails
SACRAMENTO – Last week, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 1247, which would require content creators who feature their minor children and receive compensation for that content to delete or edit the material if requested by the child after they turn 18.
With the rise of social media, specifically YouTube, family vloggers have exploded in popularity, many filming their daily lives and raking in thousands of dollars in ad revenue, sponsorships, and advertising. According to Goldman Sachs Research, the influencer economy stood at roughly $250 billion in 2023 and is expected to nearly double to $480 billion by 2028. Many family vloggers include their young children in their content, filming intimate details of their personal lives for their audience of millions to see.
A New York Times investigation into parents managing child influencers found these accounts drew a large audience of adult men seeking explicit photos. The rise of so many family vloggers raise questions about cases of child abuse and exploitation, and the issue that children lose their privacy as they are filmed without consent or compensation.
In 2024, popular family vlogger Ruby Franke was sentenced to 30 years in prison for four counts of aggravated child abuse. Ms. Franke, who was known for documenting her strict parenting style on social media, had over 2.5 million followers on her YouTube channel in which she documented the lives of her six children and chronicled her parenting strategies, which included punishing her children by withholding food. Following her arrest and trial, Shari Franke, her daughter, championed “Right to Delete” legislation in Utah, which was signed into law in March of last year.
“Children have a right to not have the most intimate moments of their lives shared with the world,” said Senator Padilla. “A ‘right to delete’ is a critical tool to protect the privacy and wellbeing of child performers. Two years ago, we took steps to modernize California’s landmark protections to keep up with the natural evolution of entertainment. This bill once again puts California at the forefront of protections for minors in one of our tent pole industries.”
SB 1247 would require content creators who feature their minor children and receive compensation to delete or edit the material if requested by the child after they reach 18. The bill builds off of Senate Bill 764, a measure previously authored by Senator Padilla that became law in 2025.
Senate Bill 764 requires content creators that feature minors in at least 30% of their content to set aside 65% of a proportionate percentage of total gross earnings in a trust account the minor can access when they reach adulthood. The legislation mirrors the landmark financial protections that California established with the Coogan Act in the 1930’s that went on to become the national standard to best safeguard the economic future of actors under 18. However, Coogan protections only extend to child performers under contract. As parents do not need to draft contracts to record or post videos of their family, children in these posts are not guaranteed access to the profits generated by their likeness and participation.
SB 1247 is supported by prominent children’s online safety advocates.
“As a former child performer, I was 12 years old when my face was superimposed onto pornographic content, and there was nothing I could do to stop it,” said former child actor Alyson Stoner, now a certified mental health practitioner and child advocate. “As a teen, I faced kidnapping plots, stalkers, and mass media coverage of the most intimate and vulnerable details of my life. The content that was captured and shared didn’t stay in the past — it traveled forward, determining my employment prospects, public reputation, and everyday safety. This was before the digital landscape made posting content instantaneous and permanent. Today, children—who are often not interested in being a performer of any kind, and who are simply being filmed during everyday life moments, face those same risks at scale, with even fewer protections and even less ability to remove what they never consented to create. The funnel of exposure is only widening, and the need is urgent. Senator Padilla’s bill gives children something my generation never had: the right to their own image, and the legal means to protect it.”
“In 2024, California took action to safeguard the financial earnings of a new population of "child stars"— child influencers,” said Chris McCarty, Founder of Quit Clicking Kids, an advocacy group instrumental in the passage of Senate Bill 764 and similar legislation in Illinois. “Now, they are expanding on this progress to ensure that these children’s privacy is protected. In the age of AI, it can be dangerous for a child’s image to be publicly accessible. This new bill ensures that once children reach the age of 18, they can request content to be deleted, restoring control over their digital footprint.”
SB 1247 will be heard in the Senate in the coming months. To read more about SB 764 and Senator Padilla’s efforts to protect children online, click here.
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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/