HB 1661

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 .