MPs Call for Better Protection for Child Influencers and Followers

MPs in Parliament are calling for better legal protection for child influencers and their followers from exploitation in a new DCMS Committee report.A new report from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee has said that the rise of influencer culture online has brought significant new opportunities for those working in the creative industries and is a boost to the UK economy.

Julian Knight, chair of the committee, said: "However, as is so often the case where social media is involved, if you dig below the shiny surface of what you see on screen you will discover an altogether murkier world where both the influencers and their followers are at risk of exploitation and harm online." Knight continued: "Child viewers, who are still developing digital literacy, are in particular danger in an environment where not everything is always as it seems, while there is a woeful lack of protection for young influencers who often spend long hours producing financially lucrative content at the direction of others."

The report states that the government must strengthen employment and advertising laws to protect children who are both influencers and viewers. Rules around advertising for children should also be strengthened, including pay and standards.The committee's recommendations are to give advertising regulators more power to enforce the law around advertising and to close influencer loopholes.

MPs also recommended that children, parents and schools must be given more support in developing media literacy throughout the duration of the inquiry, which called for tighter regulations against child influencer exploitation, concerns were raised that some children within the influencer economy were being used by parents and family members. There were fears that parents and guardians were seeking to capitalise on the lucrative online market.Knight concluded: "For too long it has been a case of lights, camera, inaction. It is now up to the government to reshape the rules to keep pace with the changing digital landscape and ensure proper protections for all."