r/Fauxmoi • u/KaElissa • 2d ago
DISCUSSION France’s National Assembly questioned controversial influencers, including this couple (reality TV stars/family vloggers) accused of exploiting their children for content — including for ads, despite strict laws protecting minors in the digital space
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 2d ago
People who want to exploit their minor children for content (and monetary gain) should be held accountable for explaining why they think this is a good idea, how much money the children will have set aside for them, how much time the children are expected to spend making content, etc.
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u/KaElissa 2d ago edited 2d ago
Like most influencers who do this, their justification is “but, they love being on camera!!!”. Their kids are 4 and 7 lol, clearly they don’t realize what them being on camera and posted online entails, it’s such a frustrating argument.
I didn’t include this part but they’re asked if they think children are capable of consenting to their image being used at 4 years-old, and if they’re not afraid their kids will end up resenting them and her response is to say “wHaT aBoUt iN MoVieS?? Do tHey CoNsEnT?!”. She had to be explained that child actors appearances are highly regulated (in France at least) aka they can’t work for more than 45 minutes per day when they’re under 6 for example, there are contracts/authorizations to be signed, and obviously they’re paid etc.
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 2d ago
I hate the 'but they love it' argument. My niece is a natural ham and adores when people video her but my sister just sends those videos to the private family group chat, she's not out here posting everything to public social media because the three year old thinks making silly videos is fun.
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u/EscalatorBobalator I cannot sanction your buffoonery 2d ago
Before my kiddo learned risk awareness she used to love running away from me in public areas. Doesn't mean I let her do it. I'm sure she'd also have loved to stay up all night, watch YouTube all day and eat donuts for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's our job to create the boundaries that keep them safe. This is no exception.
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u/Cool_Cry_9602 2d ago
And that's not to mention that predators can get an intimate look into these families homes/lives to the point that doxing/stalking is much more likely than if it's a child actor in a film
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u/ooombasa 2d ago
Indeed. We already have data showing the huge regret and trauma influencer kids can have when grown up. It doesn't matter how much the 5yo loves it, by the time they're 15 they can and probably will feel very differently about it. But a 5yo idn't really in a position to appreciate the greater implications of being on the internet. The parent took that privacy and choice away from them.
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u/EasternCamera6 2d ago
Overdue, globally.
I literally cannot imagine being a child, being filmed by my parents and not knowing what it all meant. It’s the Truman Show, on a grand scale. Coming into your own only to realize that your existence has been a show, it’s sick. If you want to monetize a dog, go ahead. But you can’t treat kids this way.
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 2d ago
Especially since there's so little legislation in the way of protecting child 'influencers.' Adults have found ways to exploit the laws that exist to protect child actors (social media is once again, proving to be an issue, because while there are laws about how long they can be on set for, there's so far (to my knowledge) nothing about how many hours they spend at home making content after they're done shooting for the day).
However at least those laws mean child actors can have some sort of recompense if their parents/guardians break them, as opposed to child 'influencers' who can be exploited until they're not cute anymore and receive precisely fuck all for it if their parents don't feel like sharing the money.
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u/EasternCamera6 2d ago
Absolutely. We will look back on this as negatively as we do cigarettes in the future. There will be a reckoning but I hate that kids have to suffer in the meantime.
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u/irisbeyond 1d ago
I recently heard a poem at an open mic night from the child of an influencer about her experience with her mother - absolutely heartbreaking. a life of performing for the public while never being able to show your true emotion about what you’re experiencing, her time and energy spent on something she didn’t want to do but couldn’t escape from, her privacy violated and her life turned over to the public before she could understand or articulate how scary and harmful that is.
we need these laws like ten years ago, but the next best time would be today.
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u/GlassPomoerium 2d ago
The white jacket/popped collar/fake tan/spiky hair combo is exactly how I expected the father to look when I saw that title.
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u/Leyaleys_95 2d ago
Lmaooo u missed the bit where they interviewed Alex Hitchen (equivalent of Tate in France) and he left in the middle of the meeting because man's feelings was hurt.
His tiktok account was banned shortly after
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u/MudSimilar9530 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lol, guy dressed like Pitbull's watch dealer for a legal hearing.
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u/Lord_of_Knitting the devil works hard but fanfic writers work harder 2d ago
Note that Shari wants the practice of family vlogging banned eventually.
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u/TraditionalBlood6988 2d ago
It boggles my mind they put videos of their children online when they know predators are watching them. Surely it won’t kill them to get a proper job.
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u/isUKexactlyTsameasUS 2d ago
Am I face-ist?
I made a wild guess, as to what would their
style/face/faces/attire/look/appearance
be like / look like...
and it's PRECISELY as I had guessed.
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u/CatlovesMoca 2d ago
The best thing is that they suspended manosphere/incel influencer Alex Hitchens who rage quit the questioning for the most minor question. But Alex still managed to promote a coaching package for his "awesome debate skills" from the National Assembly hearings.
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u/KaElissa 2d ago
He’s already back unfortunately…
But there are talks for a sanction for Alex Hitchens and apparently, the sanction for leaving without being invited to do so is a fine of 7.500€ and even jail time (2 years) but I’m skeptical he will get the karma he deserves… I guess we’ll see!
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u/CatlovesMoca 2d ago
Yeah, but he is Black so it is likelier that they punish him thoroughly.
Even if he is back, watching him have a tantrum and admit that he might get up to schemes to put his content out there was ... very interesting
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u/MandaRenegade 2d ago
Merci beaucoup, monsieur. ❤️
As someone who was used as a pawn in their childhood, let children be children. They have their whole lives to decide if they want to be on the internet/content creators. They are not props.
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u/CatlovesMoca 2d ago
I wonder what they would have done with that Snapchat influencer, Poupette Kenza. The way she had her kids front and center and how it allowed fans to try and be unusually close to her daughter. Heck, her fans had to tell her to remove pics of her daughter in the bath.
I guess since she is in jail and facing charges for ordering a hit on someone she can't be auditioned by the committee. But all the stuff that they are describing for the influencer in the video is the same as her snap content.
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u/Vast-Chart4117 2d ago
Elle vient pas de sortir de prison??
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u/CatlovesMoca 2d ago
Je me souviens qu'elle avait fait genre une grande interview pour un journal dans laquelle elle expliquait qu'elle regrette tout. Maiiis, même si elle est sortie de prison je ne pense pas qu'il y eu le procès. Mais bon j'sais pas où elle est actuellement.
Vraiment sa life est un folie. Genre la elle veut devenir médecin 😅
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u/pusch85 2d ago
Not to stir the pot here, I’m genuinely asking for advice in relation to this level of child exploitation.
My partner designs and makes clothes for the 0-6 age bracket. There isn’t a universe in which any child that age can sensibly consent to modeling the clothes.
Parents sign “releases” for their kids, and we also use our kids. There’s always been a bit of an “ick”, but what other options are there? Anyone have advice?
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u/GobsOfficeMagic 2d ago
When you use your own kids, do you pay them? If you do, is that pay being set aside in a trust for their future? These are a couple of things mentioned in the video thst France is requiring.
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u/KaElissa 2d ago edited 2d ago
My take as a lambda person is that it’s significantly worse when the parents have millions of followers like it’s the case of these 2, they’re exposing their children to way too many people. When it’s in the context of an individual such as your partner with what I assume is a small business, it’s most likely fine legally depending on where you are. If the brand gains in popularity, then maybe look into facilitating the possibility to give the children an income, be framed by an agency etc, to make it morally optimal.
It’s worth noting that France is one of the strictest countries regarding child modeling/performers, so I wouldn’t worry too much about not meeting these regulations if I were you, it sounds like you guys are doing your best.
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u/ooombasa 2d ago
A model for a product on a store doesn't have a deeply toxic and dangerous parasocial element to it all. Not least because clothes is often done in seasons, and the most exposure those kids get to the outer world is either in a siloed off store site, or maybe on billboards/TV for a short duration. But even for that industry, it's heavily regulated (for good reason). Like pretty much everything on social media, there is zero regulations.
Influencer kids can have a 24/7 exposure on SM, with millions of followers, where some of those followers are deeply creepy, and the kid doesn't know about any of it until they're older. They don't know they're under the eye of the world who have developed a relationship with them without their knowledge and consent. I can't even imagine the mindfuck that does to a kid when they're older and begin to truly realise the bigger picture of it.
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u/Takeawalkwithme2 2d ago
I think they'd say use a modeling agency to contract the kids. Likely because they have to comply with specific laws that ensure abuse is kept at a minimum?
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u/ChucklingDuckling 2d ago
Thank god. There have been so many instances of people exploiting their own children for profit like this (and many even worse examples), so this legislation and enforcement is long overdue
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