INTERVIEW
They are 6, 8, 12 and are the heroes of videos staged by their parents, sometimes accumulating millions of views. They are called "youtubeur children" or "influencer children". Until now, this activity has not been legally supervised. Last week, a bill aimed at regulating the activity of minors under the age of 16 on online platforms was adopted unanimously at the National Assembly. To talk about it, Philippe Vandel received Friday Bruno Studer, deputy En Marche at the origin of this bill, and Thomas Rohmer, president of the association OPEN (Observatory of parenthood and digital education), in his Culture - Media program.
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Filling a "double legal vacuum"
Until now, the parents of these "internet star children" had no legal rule to respect, except that of declaring the income generated by the image of their children. This bill adopted by the deputies thus fills a legal vacuum, and even a "double legal vacuum", according to Bruno Studer.
"In the case where there is a clearly established working relationship between the parent and the child, he was not protected by any statute, like that of the children of the spectacle", explains the deputy behind this law. The status of children in the entertainment industry guarantees the right to leisure, rest and education for children, whether actors, models or singers.
His consent is also verified, and the money he generates is blocked in a bank account pending his majority. The issue of monetization is important. It is estimated that some accounts bring in 150,000 euros monthly!
Empowering companies
The law aims to align the status of youtubeur children with that of spectacle children. "It is a framework, not a ban," said the deputy. "We can welcome new forms of expression, creation and even entrepreneurship on the internet, but we must respect and protect the best interests of children," he explains. "We had to invent a new protection system. We decided to make a declaration by parents mandatory beyond a certain threshold, whether it be income or the number of videos or photos. We must also make companies responsible product placement: a fine is provided for those who do not verify that the declaration has been made ", details the deputy.
Different actors are involved: child protection associations - which will report identified cases -, platforms - which work in collaboration with associations -, the administration, but also child welfare services, which can initiate investigations in families.
"The child has no more leisure"
To understand the importance of supervising these activities, Thomas Rohmer explains that certain accounts publish around thirty videos per month. "This clearly means that the child no longer has leisure," indignant the association president. "The idea is not to point the finger at these parents and be moralized, but to start from a vulnerable status which is that of the child, and to say that it deserves to be supervised", he continues.
The phenomenon is even more worrying in the United States. "It is so that it does not happen in France that we legislate, and we are the first country to do so," said Bruno Studer, who continues to clarify the contours of his law. "To be allowed to shoot these videos as part of the employment relationship, the children will go before a commission made up of professionals in child psychology," he said.
"It's alarming"
He explains that children's media exposure can also have a detrimental impact on its construction. Some are staged from the age of three. "There is no longer any privacy, and I wonder how we can build ourselves under these conditions. This is alarming. There is also the question of the right to be forgotten: thanks to a provision of the law, children will be able to request the deletion of videos in which they appear before the age of 18 ", continues the deputy.
His bill was passed in the National Assembly, and will soon be examined by the Senate. Faced with this vote, the deputy is confident: "Oppose the supervision of the exploitation of children, no one has an interest in going in this direction".