“Kid Influencers: Few Rules, Big Money” available now across CBS News’ Digital properties

August 23, 2019 - Welcome to the wild wild west of social media influencers where few rules regulate the families who seek to make millions showcasing cute kids alongside brands willing to shell out big bucks to be associated with a new class of pint-size stars. Compared to Hollywood where child actors are protected by tight regulations when it comes to how much they can work and who controls their money, kid influencers are at the whim of their parents or caretakers who run their everyday lives like TV shows or photo shoots. “Kid Influencers: Few Rules, Big Money,” explores the rise of child performers and examines whether it’s simply families taking advantage of a new financial opportunity or if parents and tech platforms are exploiting unwitting children - some too young to talk - in order to make a fortune.

The latest CBSN Originals documentary, features three families raising children in front of an audience of strangers. Asked what his end goal is, Kyler Fisher, father of twins Taytum and Oakley and their infant sister Halston Blake, states “the goal is to become as famous as possible because we'll make more money.” While stardom helps pay the bills and could foot large expenses down the road like college, Karen North, Director of the Digital Social Media program at USC, notes “the difference between traditional child actors and social media influencers is that it's not a kid pretending to be somebody for a show; instead, the show is the kid...and then where does that send their lives we don’t know yet.”

The documentary is available now across all CBS News digital properties including CBSN, CBS News’ 24/7 streaming network. The documentary will also stream live on CBSN on Sunday, August 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

CBSN launched its documentary series, CBSN Originals, in January 2016, adding a new dimension to the network with immersive reports that take a deep dive into some of the key issues driving national and global conversations. To date, CBSN has streamed 40 Originals on a range of topics including the mass migration from Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, social media’s role in the violence against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, gender identity, and the dangerous journey to America through the Darien Gap, among others.

Catch up on the entire slate of CBSN Originals: https://cbsn.ws/2T1NRug.

CBSN, CBS News’ streaming news service, is available live, 24/7 via CBSNews.com/live and on all CBS News mobile apps. Stream CBSN anytime, anywhere on your phone, tablet or connected device for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation.

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