Child Skincare Influencers On TikTok Raise Questions Of Exploitation On The Internet
The world of influencers has grown rapidly within the past decade. As social media and the digital world has grown and expanded, so has the number of young people getting on these platforms.
More recently, we’ve seen online influencers as young as 12 start to accept free products from brands to promote to their large followings. Ethics has become a major point in this conversation when it comes to privacy and safety concerns for children on social media, and the products they’re being influenced to buy/pushed to market.
Skincare has become a major epicenter of this conversation, as dermatologists are warning that young kids are promoting products that they don’t need, and could even damage their skin all because they seem “trendy.”
In Europe, for example, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) is taking this matter seriously, and is now investigating beauty brands Benefit and Sephora after they began pushing a “particularly insidious strategy” of using young influencers to market their products to children intentionally, according to reports.
The AGCM specifically has launched an investigation into the brands’ owner LVMH, a luxury goods company, for allegedly attempting to sell anti-aging treatments to children younger than 10.
The Authority said the companies “may have failed to make clear the cosmetics they sold were not intended for children, while appearing instead to have encouraged their purchase through covert marketing strategies involving young micro-influencers.”
LVMH said that Sephora, Benefit, and themselves would “fully cooperate with the authorities. All the companies reaffirm their strict compliance with applicable Italian regulations.”
The Guardian also led their own investigation in which they found many videos of young people thanking brands for sending them free products. They also found an ambassador program that is open to children as young as 13.
The investigation found that US skincare brand Evereden runs a “scheme” with no official age minimum or limit advertised, stating that they “love all ages and all stages,” with some of the youngest influencers in the program to be 12.
Those under 18 need parental permission to join, but the company is clearly passionate about working with “aspiring influencers.”
On its website, it says: “Yes! As a kids’ brand, we want to partner with our actual audience, as well as their parents and guardians. We think it’s important for kids to see people like them taking care of their skin and being empowered by age-appropriate self-care routines. However, we are committed to engaging with young creators in a responsible and ethical manner, and we require parental or guardian consent in all collaborations.”
Bubble is another company advertised as a youth skincare brand, with ambassadors who are aged 16+, but they previously accepted influencers as young as 13. In their particular program, ambassadors must like, share, and produce content advertising their products, and in return receive points that are redeemable for purchases.
A spokesperson for Bubble said, according to the Guardian: “We do not partner with or pay children to promote our products. Our ambassador programme requires participants to be 16 or older, and parental consent is required for anyone under 18.”
“Clinical safety is foundational to how we operate. As far as we are aware, we are one of the only brands that conducts clinical safety testing on consumers aged eight and up on the products we would recommend for younger users. If younger consumers are using skincare, there should be real clinical validation behind its safety. We also have a paediatric dermatologist as a part of our robust dermatologists’ advisory board.”
Experts on the matter have stated that these programs are in a “regulatory grey area.” While there are many laws and regulations around the world regarding child labor for actors and models, those same rules don’t extend to child influencers on social media.
“A lot of protections focus on consumers under advertising law, not on the child creating the content,” said law lecturer and coordinator of the Child Influencer Project, Dr. Francis Rees.
Children creating online content do not have protections under the Online Safety Act or child performance legislation unless criminal thresholds are crossed, Dr. Rees explained.
“Brands and agencies don’t have a duty of care to the child in these situations. They contract with the parent, who is expected to safeguard the child,” she stated.
The Advertising Standards Authority requires all influencers to clearly label their posts as advertisements, while many younger creators believe that simply having “ambassador for _” in their bio is enough.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
