Watch Shari Franke warn lawmakers about the dangers of family vlogs

Shari Franke, the eldest daughter of former popular family vlogger Ruby Franke, testified Wednesday in favor of child influencer protection laws, telling Utah lawmakers that “there is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger.”

Shari Franke, along with her five siblings, was part of her mother’s videos posted to what would become millions of viewers on the YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” which was still active until Ruby Franke’s arrest for child abuse in August. 2023.

During a Utah Senate committee hearing, Shari Franke told lawmakers, “There is never a good reason to put your children online for money or fame.” Her own experiences as the child of a family vlogger are a good example of the damage often done to children who are pushed into the influencing space, she said.

Her testimony comes as proposals for child interference laws continue to flow through a handful of states across the country. Three states, Illinois, Minnesota and California, have officially passed such laws, introducing financial and privacy protections for children featured in monetized online content.

View Shari Franke’s testimony here

“There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger,” says Shari Franke

“My mother, Ruby Franke, is the prominent family vlogger who was arrested last year for child abuse,” Shari Franke told lawmakers. “I don’t come today as the daughter of a criminal, nor as the victim of an abnormally abusive mother. I come today as the victim of family vlogs.”

“When children become stars in their families’ online content, they become child influencers,” she continued. “It’s more than just filming your family life and putting it online. It’s a full-time job, with employees, business credit cards, managers and marketing strategies.”

She described receiving rewards such as vacations and shopping trips for filming “particularly embarrassing” content as a child, noting that there are no state laws to protect the money parents earn from their children’s labor. She also likened the experience of running a family vlogging channel as a child to Stockholm Syndrome, saying that child influencers may think they have control over what is posted, when in reality their parents use shame or bribes to convince them to to adhere to this.

“However, the difference between family vlogs and a normal business is that all the children are employees,” she said. “Children from birth to the day they turn 18 have become stars of family businesses on YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.”

Franke said Utah is a hot spot for family and mom vloggers because the LDS culture surrounding the family, the goal of sharing the church and the prevalence of large families make family-oriented content all the more lucrative. That’s why she urged sitting lawmakers to “address this issue before it becomes a bigger crisis than it already is.”

Who is Ruby Franke?

Ruby Franke is a mother of six from Utah and a formerly popular family vlog YouTuber. She was one of the stars of the YouTube channel ‘8 Passengers’, which once racked up millions of views and followers. She became the subject of widespread criticism online for her parenting choices.

The Utah mother was arrested in August 2023 on multiple child abuse charges after one of her children escaped her supervision and ran to a neighbor asking for food and help. Franke later pleaded guilty to four felony counts of second-degree aggravated child molestation and was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison per charge.

Jodi Hildenbrandt, her business partner and co-founder of the YouTube channel and parenting advice service ‘ConneXions’, was charged with the same charges and sentenced.

At the time of Franke’s arrest, Shari shared a post on her Instagram Story celebrating the arrest, saying: “Today was a big day. Me and my family are so happy that justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS about this for years, and so glad they finally decided to take it a step further.”

Watch Shari Franke warn lawmakers about the dangers of family vlogs

View Shari Franke’s testimony here

“There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger,” says Shari Franke

Who is Ruby Franke?

By Sheisoe

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Watch Shari Franke warn lawmakers about the dangers of family vlogs

View Shari Franke’s testimony here

“There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger,” says Shari Franke

Who is Ruby Franke?

By Sheisoe

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