The Dutch government wants to ban young children from doing commercial work on social media. Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Thierry Aartsen announced this plan to the House of Representatives. Under the new rules, children aged 15 and under can no longer participate in these profitable online activities.
The dangers of digital exploitation
The rise of kidfluencing threatens child well-being and development. Family vloggers and parental influencers regularly include their children in commercial online content. Minister Aartsen raised specific concerns about parents and corporate brands using children as a direct business model.
These young children often spend long hours filming, retaking scenes, and posing for sponsored content. Unlike traditional child actors, digital content creators lack strict legal protections regarding working hours and mandatory rest periods. Consequently, these minors face heightened risks of losing their personal privacy. They also suffer from digital exploitation and develop a negative self-image due to constant public scrutiny.
Outdated laws create loopholes
The Dutch Labour Authority warns that current regulations fail to protect children in the digital space. The previous administration did introduce stricter guidelines, but the existing legal framework remains overly complex. This complexity makes the rules very difficult to enforce effectively.
Lawmakers wrote traditional child labour laws long before smartphones and algorithmic feeds existed. Therefore, current laws fail to define exactly when a casual family video becomes an illegal commercial operation. Minister Aartsen emphasized that the serious risks of this modern child labour justify clear, uncompromised restrictions.
Financial control and next steps
The financial compensation generated by these social media channels remains a major point of contention. Currently, brands pay parents directly for endorsements, so children have no legal guarantee of receiving the money they earned. Future guidelines may require parents to set up protected trust funds for minors, similar to laws in traditional entertainment sectors abroad.
Minister Aartsen intends to present fully detailed legislative proposals to parliament this autumn. These proposals will outline the exact definitions of commercial content. They will also specify the exact penalties for non-compliant brands and parents.
@ anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
