The MN Senate Committee on Labor heard SF3496: compensation for minors appearing in Internet content creation . Initially heard February 12, the Comm report says to pass as amended and re-refer to Judiciary and Public Safety.

(Companion bill is: HF 3488 (Stephenson) Compensation provided for minors appearing in Internet content creation.)

Short description: S.F. No. 3496: A bill for an act relating to labor; providing compensation for minors appearing in Internet content creation; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 181A.03, by adding subdivisions; 181A.07, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181A.

Bill as introduced:

A bill for an act
relating to labor; providing compensation for minors appearing in Internet content
creation; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 181A.03, by adding
subdivisions; 181A.07, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 181A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 181A.03, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 5a.

Online platform.

“Online platform” means any public-facing website, web
application, or digital application, including a mobile application. Online platform 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.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 181A.03, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

Subd. 7a.

Content creation.

“Content creation” means content shared on an online
platform in exchange for compensation.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 181A.03, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

Subd. 7b.

Content creator.

“Content creator” means an individual or individuals 18
years of age or older, including family members, who create video content performed in
Minnesota in exchange for compensation, and includes any proprietorship, partnership,
company, or other corporate entity assuming the name or identity of a particular individual
or individuals, or family members, for the purposes of that content creator. Content creator
does not include a person under the age of 18 who produces their own video content.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 181A.07, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

 

Entertainers and models.

 

Any minor employed as an actor, model, or performer
shall be, or a minor compensated under section 181A.117, is exempt from the minimum
age provisions of section 181A.04, subdivision 1.

Sec. 5.

[181A.117] COMPENSATION FOR INTERNET CONTENT CREATION.

Subdivision 1.

Minors featured in content creation.

A minor is considered engaged
in the work of content creation when the following criteria are met at any time during the
previous 12-month period:

(1) at least 30 percent of the content creator’s compensated video content produced within
a 30-day period included the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor. Content percentage
is measured by the percentage of time the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor visually
appears or is the subject of an oral narrative in a video segment as compared to the total
length of the segment; and

(2) 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 $0.10 per view.

Subd. 2.

Records required.

(a) All video content creators 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 the age of 21:

(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 subdivision
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 subdivision 3.

(b) The records required by this subdivision must be readily accessible to the minor for
review. The content creator shall provide notice to the minor of the existence of the records.

Subd. 3.

Trust required.

(a) A minor who is engaged in the work of content creation
consistent with this section must be compensated by the content creator. 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 the age of majority, according to the following distribution:

(1) if only one minor meets the content threshold described in subdivision 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 half of the content percentage that
includes the minor as described in subdivision 1; or

(2) if more than one minor meets the content threshold described in subdivision 1 and
a video segment includes more than one of those minors, the percentage described in clause
(1) for all minors in any segment must be equally divided between the minors regardless
of differences in percentage of content provided by the individual minors.

(b) A trust account required under this section 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;

(2) the account is held by a bank, corporate fiduciary, or trust company, as those terms
are defined in chapter 48A;

(3) the money in the account becomes available to the minor engaged in the work of
content creation upon the minor attaining the age of 18 years or upon a declaration that the
minor is emancipated; and

(4) that the account meets the requirements of chapter 527, the Uniform Transfers to
Minors Act.

(c) If a content creator knowingly or recklessly violates this section, a minor satisfying
the criteria described in subdivision 1 may commence a civil action to enforce the provisions
of this section regarding the trust account. In any action brought in accordance with this
section, the court may award the following damages:

(1) actual damages;

(2) punitive damages; and

(3) the costs of the action, including attorney fees and litigation costs.

(d) This section does not affect a right or remedy available under any other law of the
state.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to have any effect on a party that is neither
the content creator nor the minor who engaged in the work of content creation.

Subd. 4.

Civil cause of action; violations.

If a content creator whose content features
minors engaged in the work of content creation fails to maintain the records as provided in
subdivision 2, the minor may commence a civil action against the content creator for damages
and to enforce this section.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective July 1, 2025.