New Jersey-2024-A4635-Introduced

An Act protecting the privacy of and wages earned by minor children featured in online videos, amending R.S.9:1-1, and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.9:1-1 is amended to read as follows:

9:1-1. [The] a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, the father and mother of a minor child are equally entitled to its services and earnings. If one of the parents be dead, has abandoned the child, or has been deprived of its custody by direction of court, the other is entitled to such services and earnings.

The parents jointly may maintain an action for the loss of the wages or services of their minor child when such loss is occasioned by an injury, wrongfully or negligently inflicted upon such child. If one of the parents be dead, has abandoned the child, has been deprived of its custody by direction of court or refuses to sue, the other may sue alone.

Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to supersede, limit, modify or affect the provisions of chapter fifteen of Title 34 (s.34:15-1 et seq.).

b. If a minor child's wages or earnings are earned through the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the minor child shall be entitled to those wages and earnings as provided in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The minor child's wages or earnings pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be placed in a trust to be administered by a court and presented for the benefit of the minor when the minor reaches the age of majority. Upon reaching the age of majority as defined in section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the minor child shall gain full access to the trust.

(cf: P.L.1953, c.9, s.1)

2. (New section) As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

"Age of majority" means the age of 18 years old.

"Content creation" means the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in a digital space.

"Individual" means any natural person.

"Internet platform or network" means a digital service that facilitates interactions between two or more distinct but interdependent sets of users, whether groups or individuals, who interact through the service via the Internet.

"Likeness" means an image, painting, sketching, model, diagram, photograph, or other clear representation of an individual's face, body, or parts thereof, or the distinctive appearance, gestures, or mannerisms of an individual.

"Minor child" means an individual under the age of 18.

"Name" means the actual or assumed name, or nickname, of a living individual that is intended to identify that individual.

"Online content creator" means an individual or family that creates video content in exchange for compensation and includes any proprietorship, partnership, company, or other corporate entity assuming the name or identity of a particular individual or family for purposes of that content creation.

"Signature" means the handwritten or otherwise legally binding form of an individual's name, written or authorized by that individual, which distinguishes the individual from all others.

"Video" means a recording of an image or of moving images in which an individual is readily identifiable, which may be prerecorded or recorded online, or may be an online live video transmission or a live television transmission.

3. (New section) An online content creator, meeting the criteria established under subsection a. of this section, shall compensate the online content creator's minor child, in accordance with section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), when the use of the minor child's likeness or name meets the video content criteria set forth in subsection b. of this section.

a. An online content creator shall be subject to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) any time the online content creator meets the following criteria:

(1) the number of views received per video segment or the number of interactions received per video on any Internet platform or network meets the platform or network's threshold for generation of compensation; or

(2) the online content creator received actual compensation for the video content equal to or greater than $0.10 per view or interaction.

b. An online content creator's video content shall be subject to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) any time the video content meets the following criteria:

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

(2) the video content features a product or service advertisement associated with the online content creator's minor child.

4. (New section) An online content creator meeting the criteria in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall set aside gross earnings on the video content including the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child in a trust, to be administered by a court and preserved for the benefit of the minor upon reaching the age of majority, according to the following distribution:

a. where only one minor child meets the content threshold described in subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment including the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child that is equal to or greater than the content percent that includes the minor child as described in subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill); or

b. where more than one minor child meets the content threshold described in subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and a video segment includes more than one of those children, the additive percentage described in subsection a. of this section for all minor children in any segment shall be equally divided between the children, regardless of differences in percentage of content provided by the minor children individually eligible for compensation.

5. (New section) a. Upon reaching the age of majority, any individual who was a minor child eligible for compensation pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), may request that any Internet platform or network that provided compensation to the individual's parent or parents in exchange for that video content permanently delete any video segment including the likeness or name of the individual from the Internet platform or network. The individual may also request that the online content creator permanently delete any video segment including the likeness or name from the online content creator's Internet platform account that received compensation from an advertisement source and not from the Internet platform or network.

b. An Internet platform or network shall take all reasonable steps to permanently delete the video segment for which a request pursuant to subsection a. of this section has been received. In the event that the Internet platform or network is unable to permanently delete the video, the Internet platform or network shall notify the online content creator within 60 days of its failure to delete the video and the online content creator is responsible for taking all reasonable steps to delete the videos from the online content creator's Internet platform or network account.

c. Any contract with an Internet platform or network for the exchange or use of video content that would reasonably be anticipated to include greater than a de minimis use of the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child shall include notification to the Internet platform or network of the minor child's future rights as provided in this section.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill protects the monetary and privacy rights of minor children featured in online video blogs. The bill requires an online content creator to compensate the online content creator's minor child or children whose likeness or name constitutes a certain percentage of the online content creator's video content.

This bill applies to an online video blog, if the online content creator either (1) meets the Internet platform or network's threshold for generation of compensation, or (2) receives actual compensation for the video content equal to or greater than $0.10 per view or interaction. In addition, the provisions of the bill apply if at least 30 percent of the online content creator's compensated video content produced within a 30-day period includes the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child or the video content features a product or service advertisement associated with the online content creator's minor child. Under the bill, content percentage is measured by the percentage of time the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child visually appears or is the subject of an oral narrative in the video segment, as compared to the total length of the segment. An online content creator who meets these criteria is required to set aside gross earnings gained from the use of the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child provided in the video content. Based on the following distribution, these gross earnings are to be placed in a trust and preserved for the benefit of the minor upon reaching the age of 18:

(1) when only one minor child meets the content threshold described in this bill, the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment including the likeness or name of the online content creator's minor child is equal to or greater than the content percent that includes the minor child; or

(2) when more than one minor child meets the content threshold described in this bill and a video segment includes more than one of those children, the additive percentage above for all minor children in any segment is to be equally divided between the children, regardless of differences in percentage of content provided by the individual children.

Additionally, this bill allows any individual, who was previously a minor child featured in an online content creator's video content and has reached the age of 18, to request the permanent deletion of any video segment including the likeness or name of the individual from any Internet platform or network that provided compensation to the individual's parent or parents in exchange for that video content. The individual may also request the permanent deletion of any video segment including the likeness or name from the online content creator's Internet platform account that received compensation from an advertisement source and not from the Internet platform or network. If the individual requests this deletion, the Internet platform or network is required to take all reasonable steps to permanently delete the video segment. In the event that the Internet platform or network is unable to permanently delete the video, the online content creator is responsible for taking all reasonable steps to delete the videos from the online content creator's Internet platform account.

Any contract with an Internet platform or network for the exchange or use of video content that would reasonably be anticipated to include greater than a de minimis use of an online content creator's minor child is required to include notification to the Internet platform or network of the minor child's future rights.

This bill also amends current law to create monetary protections for minor children of online content creators who earn compensation through this bill. Under current law, the parents of a minor child are equally entitled to the minor child's services and earnings. The amendments require any compensation earned from using a minor child's likeness or name in the video content is to be placed in a trust for the minor child. Upon reaching the age of 18, the minor child is to then gain full access to the trust.