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Senate adopts bill extending Coogan‑style protections to child influencers
Summary
The Colorado Senate adopted House Bill 10‑58, which lawmakers described on the floor as extending protections similar to California's Coogan law to minors who earn money from digital content; sponsors said the measure requires parental protections such as trust accounts while excluding certain industry activities.
The Colorado Senate on March 31 adopted House Bill 10‑58, a measure sponsors described as extending a "Coogan"‑style protection to minors who earn income producing online content. The bill was taken up out of order, the Judiciary Committee report was adopted, and the measure passed by voice vote.
"House Bill 10‑58 is about extending what's called Coogan's law to the age of the Internet," sponsor Senator Ball said on the floor, explaining the California law that created protections for child actors and that the bill would require similar trusts or protections for child influencers. "So what this bill does is it extends that to the world of child influencers."
Ball told colleagues the committee made a technical amendment at the request of the telecommunications industry to clarify that the bill does not apply to certain industry activities. "In committee, we just added a very small technical amendment at the request of the telecommunications industry to clarify that this bill did not apply to some things that they do," Ball said.
Senator Wallace, who joined as a cosponsor, said the growth of minors producing online content — often from homes or schools — makes similar safeguards necessary. "With just a few successful videos, they are able to be foisted into the public light and mass advertising of social media. This means our protections must, too, enter the 21st century to ensure ... protections for today's child influencers," Wallace said.
Supporters described the bill as creating a trust or equivalent mechanism so that earnings generated by a minor's content are protected for the child's future. Ball encouraged an "I" vote; after the procedural steps and the voice vote the presiding officer declared the ayes had it and the bill was adopted.
The bill's text was taken up from the Judiciary Committee report and the amendment language added in committee was noted on the floor. The clerk recorded the committee adoption preceding the floor debate; the final on‑floor tally for the adoption step was announced by the chair as "the ayes have it." The Senate then laid over other calendar items and proceeded with additional business.
Next steps: House Bill 10‑58 moves forward as adopted by the Senate and will follow the regular enrollment and transmittal process to the executive according to standard legislative procedure.
