Family channels are a real business. The kids open the presents, try the snacks, react to the surprise, and the brand deals roll in. The money usually lands in a parent's account. So who really got paid: the parent who ran the camera, or the kid who was the show? Colorado's child influencer law answers part of that.
Colorado has answered. On May 4, 2026, it approved HB26-1058, a bipartisan law "concerning protections for minors who are featured in digital content." Sponsor Rep. Meghan Lukens said it protects "'kidfluencers' by requiring parents to establish a trust for their child when videos earn thousands of dollars." It takes effect June 1, 2027, and applies to conduct on or after that date. Tennessee passed its own version this year too, effective July 1, 2026. Here's Colorado's, because its text is the one we can quote.
Takeaway #1: When your kid counts as "working"
FROM THE RULE
"At least thirty percent of the content creator's online content produced within a thirty-day period includes the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor."
What it means for you. Under the new law, which covers parents and guardians who make paid content, a child is "engaged in the work of content creation" when three things happen in any twelve-month period. First, that 30 percent screen-time test. It's measured by time: how long the child "visually appears or is the subject of an oral narrative" compared with the total length of the content. Second, the views meet the platform's threshold for paying out, or the creator earns at least "ten cents per view." Third, the creator receives "at least forty thousand dollars" for online content.
So a cousin in one holiday video doesn't count.
Teenagers get their own rule. A minor who is fourteen or older "may produce, create, and publish their own online content and is entitled to all compensation for their own content creation."
Your move. If you run a family channel, start measuring now. Screen time, views and earnings per video are exactly what the law asks you to track.
Takeaway #2: The trust account, and who can't touch it
FROM THE RULE
"The trust is not revocable by the content creator without the consent of the minor engaged in the work of content creation."
What it means for you. Once a child qualifies, the creator must set aside part of the "gross earnings" on content that includes the child "into a trust account to be preserved for the benefit of the minor upon reaching the age of majority." How much? Our reading, which tracks Illinois's model law: at least 40 percent of the child's screen-time share of each video's gross. On screen for half a video means at least 20 percent of that video's gross. The wording is clumsy, so check it with a lawyer before you budget. With two or more qualifying kids in a video, the share is "equally divided between the minors," each in a separate account.
The account has rules. The money is "available only to the minor." It's held "by a bank or trust company." The child gets it at 18 or on emancipation. It must meet Colorado's Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. And, the line I quoted, the parent can't revoke it without the child's consent. A court can release money early only on petition.
There's paperwork too. The creator must keep records until the child turns 18: proof of the child's age, paid posts, minutes featured, total earnings and "the amount deposited into the trust account." The child gets notice of those records and access to them. If a child first qualifies in a calendar year, the trust must be set up "on or before January 30" of the next year.
The devil is in the details, and so is the bill. For a knowing or reckless violation, a suit can be filed on the child's behalf for an injunction, "actual damages," "punitive damages" and attorney fees.
Your move. Set up the account before June 1, 2027, keep the records monthly, and make sure your brand contracts pay the channel in a way you can trace to each video.
Sample wording (our illustration): "Creator shall report, for each Deliverable, the minutes in which any minor appears and the gross fee attributable to that Deliverable."
And always remember, don't sign it till you read it, my friends.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Reading this doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Talk to a lawyer before you set up a trust or sign a brand deal featuring your kids.
