Children on Camera, Parents at the Bank The Law and Ethics of Monetising Minors in India's Short-Video Economy

Abstract

Content with minor children is one of the most sure-fire money spinner categories of the big social media platforms in India. Parents, guardians, and sometimes schools regularly and intentionally record children, even when they are distressed, embarrassed, or deliberately naughty, and then profit from the videos through advertising, brand partnerships, and platform incentive programs. The child is the one who is performing and is incapable of giving consent, has no say over the material and generally does not receive any of the profits. This article explores the question of legitimacy, moral correctness, and social utility of this practice, mainly through the prism of the legal aspect. It charts the relevant Indian framework in the fields of contract law, juvenile justice law, child protection legislation, labour law, data protection law, and consumer protection law and compares it with ground-breaking developments in Europe and North America. The article shows that India has significant and weak, but largely unenforced, legal safeguards and that there is a significant gap in the law on earnings protection and a child's right of erasure. It ends with a call for special legislation for child influencers and presents some concrete solutions that are available today for citizens, regulators, and courts.