Kevin Franke told Utah lawmakers that he wishes he had never let his now ex-wife, Ruby, put their children’s lives online — and urged the Legislature to pass a bill that could protect other children financially when their parents feature them in their influencer content.
“Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day,” Franke said Tuesday, testifying before the House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee in support of HB322.
The bill, which the committee passed unanimously, would require creators who make more than $150,000 a year from online content featuring children to set aside 15% of it into a trust fund that the children can access when they turn 18. The bill also would allow those children, when adults, to ask for the content they appeared in as kids to be removed from web platforms.
“Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,” Franke said in a statement he read to the committee. “If we, as adults, cannot understand the emotional and psychological impacts of sharing our lives to millions of strangers online, how can we expect our children to understand them?”
Franke called the bill “a great first step towards protecting child influencers here in the state of Utah, and there is much more to do in the future.”
Ruby Franke started a parenting advice YouTube channel, called “8 Passengers,” in 2015, highlighting herself, Kevin, their six children, and their lives in Utah. The channel had earned 2 million subscribers before it was deleted in 2022 when Ruby and Kevin separated. Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, then launched a new channel, based on a self-improvement program Hildebrandt ran called ConneXions.
It all fell apart in August 2023, when the Frankes’ 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins — and a neighbor called police because the boy appeared malnourished and had duct tape on his ankles and wrists. After an investigation found more abuse of other Franke children, Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt each pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse, and each were sentenced to at least four years in prison.
At Tuesday’s committee hearing, Kevin Franke said, “I have my own story and journey to share when I’m ready, but obviously now is neither the time nor the place to do that.”
Kevin Franke also read statements from two of his daughters, ages 16 and 11, both of whom support the bill. Franke said both statements were submitted to a juvenile court for approval, “and the judge agreed that these statements could and should be read to this committee.”
The 16-year-old, in her statement, said that had the bill been law when her family was making online content, “my mom would not have been able to withdraw all of my savings I had from doing YouTube. This bill will prevent other kids from having to go through the pain of realizing that the compensation for years worth of time and effort is suddenly gone.”
The 16-year-old said she also supported the part of the bill that allows adults to ask for removal of content they made as children.
“As kids, you don’t realize what you’re subjected to, really.” the 16-year-old’s statement continued. “You’re selling your life, your privacy, your body and stories to the entire world. And as a child, you’re involuntarily giving up all of that. You’re selling your childhood. Though there is no amount of money that can make up for that loss, the least that can be done now is making sure the child is getting paid for her work and has the right to remove it and walk away if she wants to.”
The 11-year-old, in her statement, said she hoped the bill would “keep the children of Utah more safe,” because “more than anyone,” she added, she knows “about the horrible situation that a lot of kids are in right now.”
When the 11-year-old was on YouTube, she said in her statement, “I thought nothing was wrong. I felt ‘happy,’ but I really wasn’t. When I started getting older, I realized the YouTube channel had ruined my childhood. But at least I got some money, right? Oh, right, I actually didn’t, because my mom withdrew all of it in 2023. I worked hard for that money. I acted like someone I wasn’t in front of the camera, and I earned that money. But I feel like my mom used me for money.”
The 11-year-old emphasized that writing the statement was her idea. “You all might be saying right now that my dad told me to say these things, and is using me, but that is not true,” the child said in her statement. “If anyone is using their kids, it’s the YouTubers filming them for money.”
“I know I am stuck with the trauma of YouTube,” the 11-year-old’s statement continued. “Even now, I can barely make friends, because my whole life I was the center of the attention. But now, without even realizing it, I seek attention from others, or I feel like they don’t like me. Then those people think I’m mean.”
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, noted that the bill also covers children who perform in movies, TV and commercials.
The bill echoes California’s “Coogan Law,” enacted in 1939 and inspired by child star Jackie Coogan, who was discovered by Charlie Chaplin at age 7 and was one of the most popular movie stars of the 1920s and 1930s. As an adult, Coogan took his mother and stepfather to court, only to learn that California law then allowed them to control and spend everything he had earned. (Coogan gained late-career fame in the 1960s, playing Uncle Fester on “The Addams Family” TV series.)
According to SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents film and TV actors, Coogan Laws require trust accounts for child performers in California, New York, Illinois, Louisiana and New Mexico. Last fall, California extended its Coogan Law to cover children appearing online.
HB322 now goes to the full House for consideration.
