Children

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included some speculative elements that were not supported by the official source material.

Rules for Minors in Content Creation

This bill sets rules for minors who create content online by defining when a minor is considered working in the field of content creation, requiring detailed records to be kept about their work and earnings until they turn 21, mandating that earnings from videos featuring minors are put into a trust account until the minor turns 18 or gets emancipated, and allowing minors or adults who were minors when their likeness was used in content to request removal of such content.

What This Bill Does

• Defines when a minor is engaged in content creation if their likeness appears frequently in compensated videos or generates views that earn money.
• Requires content creators who feature minors in their videos to keep detailed records about the work done by those minors until they turn 21.
• Mandates that content creators put earnings from videos featuring minors into a trust account until the minor turns 18 or gets emancipated.
• Allows minors or adults who were minors when their likeness was used in content to request removal of such content.

Who It Names or Affects

• Minors under 18 years old who create online content featuring other minors.
• Content creators who feature minors in their videos.
• Online platforms that host content featuring minors.

Terms To Know

content creation

Sharing content on an online platform to earn money.

trust account

A special bank account where earnings from a minor's work are kept until the minor reaches 18 or gets emancipated.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not apply to minors who create their own content without featuring other minors.
• It is unclear how strictly online platforms will enforce removal requests for content featuring minors.

Official Summary Text

This bill provides that a minor is generally
engaged in the work of content creation when
all of
the following criteria are met at any time during the preceding
12
-month period:



The likeness, name, or photograph of the minor is included in at least 30% of the content creator's compensated video content produced within a
30
-day period
.


The number of views received per video segment on any online platform met the online platform's threshold for generating compensation or the content creator received actual compensation for video content equal to or greater than $0.01 per view.

However, a minor is
not engaged in the world of content creation when the minor appears incidentally in a video that depicts a public event that a reasonable person would know is being or will be broadcast, including a concert, competition, or sporting event, and the public
event is published or otherwise broadcasted by a content creator.

This bill authorizes a minor to
produce, create, and publish the minor's own content
,
and
to be
entitled to all compensation for the minor's content creation
, as long as the
minor engaged in the work of content creation as the producer, creator, and publisher of content that features another minor who meets the threshold for content creation described
above complies
with
this bill
.

RECORD RETENTION

This bill requires a
content creator whose content features a minor engaged in the work of content creation
to
maintain
all of
the following records and retain the records until the minor reaches
21
:



The name and documentary proof of the age of the minor engaged in the work of content creation
.


The amount of content creation that generated compensation as described in
this bill
during the reporting period
.


The total number of minutes of content creation for which the content creator received compensation during the reporting period
.


The total number of minutes a minor was featured in content creation during the reporting period
.


The total compensation generated from content creation featuring a minor during the reporting period
.


The amount deposited into the trust account for the benefit of the minor engaged in the work of content creation as required by
this bill
.

This bill requires such records to
be readily accessible to the minor for review. The content creator
must
provide notice to the minor of the existence of the records.
However, the records requirements described above do
not apply when
(i) t
he content creator is a minor who
produces, creates, and publishes the minor's own content
and
(
ii
)
t
he content published by the minor does not feature other minors.

COMPENSATION

This bill requires a
content creator
to
compensate a minor who is engaged in the work of content creation. The content creator
must
set aside gross earnings on the video content that includes the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor in a trust account to be preserved for the benefit of the minor until the minor reaches 1
8
, according to
either of
the following distribution:



If only
one
minor meets the content threshold described in
this bill,
the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment, including the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor that is equal to or greater than the content percentage that includes the minor
.


If more than
one
minor meets the content threshold described in
this bill
and a video segment includes more than
one
of the minors, the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment, including the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor that is equal to or greater than the content percentage that includes
one
or more of the minors, divided between the minors according to the percentage of the content that each minor provided for each applicable video segment.

This bill requires a
trust account
to
, at a minimum, provide that
(i) t
he money in the account is available only to the minor engaged in the work of content creation;

(
ii
)
t
he account is held by a state or national bank, corporate fiduciary, or trust company; and

(
iii
)
t
he money in the account becomes available to the minor engaged in the work of content creation upon the minor reaching 18, or upon a declaration that the minor is emancipated, whichever is earlier.

This bill provides that if
a content creator knowingly or recklessly violates
these compensation provisions
, then an affected minor who was engaged in content creation, or an affected individual who was a minor engaged in content creation, may bring a civil action to enforce
such provisions
. In
such
an action, the court may award (
i
)
a
ctual damages, including any compensation owed;

(
ii
)
p
unitive damages, if appropriate; and

(
iii
)
r
easonable court costs and attorney's fees.

This bill clarifies that these compensation provisions do not
affect a (i) r
ight or remedy available under another law of the stat
e
or

(
ii
)
p
arty that is not the content creator or the minor who engaged in the work of content creation.
Additionally, such provisions do
not require a minor who produces, creates, and publishes the minor's own content to place compensation earned from the minor's content into a trust
as long as
the mino
r
compl
ies
for the compensation earned by another minor if the minor's content features another minor who meets the threshold for content
creation
.

REMOVAL OF CONTENT

This bill requires the
individual who posted the content, the account owner, or another person who has control over the account
to
delete and remove from any online platform content featuring the likeness of a minor when a removal request is made by
(i) t
he minor whose likeness appears in the content or
(ii) b
y an individual who
i
s
18
or older at the time of making the request and
w
as a minor when the individual's likeness was used in the content.

If the individual, account owner, or other person who has
control over the account does not comply with
such
a request, then the minor or individual who made the request may commence a civil action against the individual, account owner, or other person for damages, injunctive relief, and any other relief the court finds just and equitable to enforce
these removal provisions
.

APPLICABILITY

This bill
takes effect January 1, 2027 and applies to conduct occurring on or after
such date
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1980
By Bailey

HOUSE BILL 1661
By Davis
HB1661
009726
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 35;
Title 37; Title 47 and Title 50, relative to minors.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, Chapter 10, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
37-10-601.
As used in this part:
(1) "Content creation" means sharing content on an online platform in
exchange for compensation;
(2) "Content creator":
(A) Means an individual who is eighteen (18) years of age or
older, including a family member, who creates video content performed in
this state in exchange for compensation; and
(B) Includes a proprietorship, partnership, company, or other
corporate entity assuming the name or identity of a particular individual or
family member, for the purposes of content creation;
(3) "Minor":
(A) Means an individual who has not yet attained eighteen (18)
years of age; and
(B) Does not include an emancipated minor; and
(4) "Online platform":
(A) Means a public-facing website, web application, or digital
application, including a mobile application; and

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(B) Includes a social network, advertising network, mobile
operating system, search engine, email service, monetization platform to
sell digital services, streaming service, paid subscription, or internet
access service.
37-10-602.
(a)
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a)(2), a minor is
engaged in the work of content creation when the following criteria are met at any
time during the preceding twelve-month period:
(A) The likeness, name, or photograph of the minor is included in
at least thirty percent (30%) of the content creator's compensated video
content produced within a thirty-day period; for purposes of this
subdivision (a)(1)(A), content percentage is measured by the percentage
of time the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor is the subject of an
oral narrative in a video segment as compared to the total length of the
segment; and
(B) The number of views received per video segment on any
online platform met the online platform's threshold for generating
compensation or the content creator received actual compensation for
video content equal to or greater than one cent ($0.01) per view.
(2) A minor is not engaged in the world of content creation when the
minor appears incidentally in a video that depicts a public event that a
reasonable person would know is being or will be broadcast, including a concert,
competition, or sporting event, and the public event is published or otherwise
broadcasted by a content creator.

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(b) A minor may produce, create, and publish the minor's own content and is
entitled to all compensation for the minor's content creation; provided, that a minor
engaged in the work of content creation as the producer, creator, and publisher of
content that features another minor who meets the threshold for content creation
described in subdivision (a)(1) must comply with the requirements of §§ 37-10-603, 37-
10-604, and 37-10-605.
37-10-603.
(a) A content creator whose content features a minor engaged in the work of
content creation shall maintain the following records and retain the records until the
minor reaches twenty-one (21) years of age:
(1) The name and documentary proof of the age of the minor engaged in
the work of content creation;
(2) The amount of content creation that generated compensation as
described in § 37-10-602(a)(1) during the reporting period;
(3) The total number of minutes of content creation for which the content
creator received compensation during the reporting period;
(4) The total number of minutes a minor was featured in content creation
during the reporting period;
(5) The total compensation generated from content creation featuring a
minor during the reporting period; and
(6) The amount deposited into the trust account for the benefit of the
minor engaged in the work of content creation as required by § 37-10-604.
(b) The records required by subsection (a) must be readily accessible to the
minor for review. The content creator shall provide notice to the minor of the existence
of the records.

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(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply when:
(1) The content creator is a minor who produces, creates, and publishes
the minor's own content; and
(2) The content published by the minor does not feature other minors.
37-10-604.
(a) A content creator shall compensate a minor who is engaged in the work of
content creation, as described in § 37-10-602(a)(1). The content creator shall set aside
gross earnings on the video content that includes the likeness, name, or photograph of
the minor in a trust account to be preserved for the benefit of the minor until the minor
reaches eighteen (18) years of age, according to the following distribution:
(1) If only one (1) minor meets the content threshold described in § 37-
10-602(a)(1), the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment,
including the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor that is equal to or
greater than the content percentage that includes the minor; or
(2) If more than one (1) minor meets the content threshold described in §
37-10-602(a)(1) and a video segment includes more than one (1) of the minors,
the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment, including the
likeness, name, or photograph of the minor that is equal to or greater than the
content percentage that includes one (1) or more of the minors, divided between
the minors according to the percentage of the content that each minor provided
for each applicable video segment.
(b) A trust account required under subsection (a) must, at a minimum, provide
that:
(1) The money in the account is available only to the minor engaged in
the work of content creation;

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(2) The account is held by a state or national bank, corporate fiduciary, or
trust company; and
(3) The money in the account becomes available to the minor engaged in
the work of content creation upon the minor reaching eighteen (18) years of age,
or upon a declaration that the minor is emancipated, whichever is earlier.
(c) If a content creator knowingly or recklessly violates this section, then an
affected minor who was engaged in content creation as described in § 37-10-602(a)(1),
or an affected individual who was a minor engaged in content creation as described in §
37-10-602(a)(1), may bring a civil action to enforce this section. In an action brought in
accordance with this subsection (c), the court may award the following damages:
(1) Actual damages, including any compensation owed under this
section;
(2) Punitive damages, as provided in § 29-39-104, if appropriate; and
(3) Reasonable court costs and attorney's fees.
(d) This section does not affect a:
(1) Right or remedy available under another law of the state; or
(2) Party that is not the content creator or the minor who engaged in the
work of content creation.
(e) This section does not require a minor who produces, creates, and publishes
the minor's own content to place compensation earned from the minor's content into a
trust; provided, that the minor shall comply with this section for the compensation earned
by another minor if the minor's content features another minor who meets the threshold
for content creation described in § 37-10-602(a)(1).
37-10-605.

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(a) The individual who posted the content, the account owner, or another person
who has control over the account shall delete and remove from any online platform
content featuring the likeness of a minor when a removal request is made by:
(1) The minor whose likeness appears in the content; or
(2) By an individual who:
(A) Is eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of making
the request; and
(B) Was a minor when the individual's likeness was used in the
content.
(b) If the individual, account owner, or other person who has control over the
account does not comply with a request made pursuant to subsection (a), then the minor
or individual who made the request may commence a civil action against the individual,
account owner, or other person for damages, injunctive relief, and any other relief the
court finds just and equitable to enforce this section.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 2027, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to conduct occurring on or after that date.