The Price of Virality and the Imperative for (Self) Regulation of Child Social Media Influencers in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper explores the increasing prevalence of child social media influencers in Taiwan. It appears that their motivations extend beyond popularity and mere financial incentives to include opportunities for self-expression, the development of communication abilities, and the acquisition of audio-visual development skills. However, the article underscores critical concerns regarding the well-being of child influencers. These concerns stem from unique dilemmas related to child labor, privacy, and parental control, including potential impediments to holistic development, popularity-related bullying, emotional and psychological vulnerabilities to performance pressure and feedback, and the possibility of exploitation arising from unregulated monetization. The analysis reveals the inadequacies of existing Taiwanese legal frameworks in effectively addressing the unique concerns and vulnerabilities of child influencers. Despite legislative and media discourse, socio-political challenges persist. Public and cultural disagreements on child online rights and parental control, with regulatory duty disputes, hinder comprehensive protection for Taiwan’s child influencers.

Child social media influencers and motivations in Taiwan

The time spent on social media by Taiwanese children has increased, with the majority spending over an hour daily and adolescents averaging 5 hours, frequently subscribing to and following social media influencers (SMIs) (Child Welfare League Foundation [CWLF], 2025; Parent-Child World [PCW], 2020). Reflecting the increase, it is perhaps unsurprising that many SMIs are minors, who are usually supported by their parents or guardians. Children are often central figures in the content produced and shared online, including the child’s voice and/or body and face appearance. It is this centrality of the child that distinguishes child influencers from other family-run channels centered on adults, including a small part of child-centered content. The content children create can be divided into categories such as DIY, toy unboxing, family entertainment, and game live broadcast.

This study explores the emergence of child influencers in Taiwan, with particular attention to why children aspire to become influencers and why parents support their children in such roles. It further explores the unique potential risks associated with child influencer activity and evaluates the regulatory framework governing this phenomenon in Taiwan. Drawing on secondary sources, NGO reports and legal documents from the Laws & Regulations Database of the Ministry of Justice, the Republic of China (Taiwan) the study analyzes the current regulatory and social context.

The two most famous cases in Taiwan are illustrative. NyoNyo, [@NyoNyoTV], (n.d.), a YouTube channel in the top 50 most influential channels in Taiwan with 1.34 million subscribers, features a child, Gloria (妞妞, NyoNyo). The popularity has resulted in ad revenues, sponsorships and merchandise revenues. Gloria grew up watching other child YouTubers from abroad and wanted to “imitate” them (in Lu et al., 2017). The channel comprises toy unboxing, and dozen different video themes, including skits, small experiments, outings, and NyoNyo animations. Media interviews with Gloria and her parents illustrate a focus on personal development and self-identity of the child. For Gloria, being a YouTuber is something she likes to do. According to her mother, Gloria is “very enthusiastic” about it. Gloria’s father, unwilling to miss out on his child’s development, eventually left his career to become a full-time YouTuber (Gao, 2019). The parents acknowledged that they face criticism of exploiting their child for financial gain: “Of course, some people will say that we are “selling” our child, but I must say, we still have to support ourselves, and moreover, we have always respected NyoNyo’s wishes” (in Lu et al., 2017).

Another remarkable example is Tsai Tao-gui (蔡桃貴, TsaiGray), the son of the prominent Taiwanese YouTuber Tsai A-ga. Similarly to Gloria, the boy has achieved a substantial online presence with 1.02 million YouTube subscribers and 1.19 million Instagram (IG) followers. He is so popular that his IG followers outnumber Taiwan’s former President Tsai Ying-wen’s. Per popular news reports and parent’s self-declaration (Tsai, A-g., [tsaigray2018], n.d.; Tsai, X-m., 2023), Tao-gui’s parents manage his channels with a focus on entertainment through games and family lifestyle themes. The YouTube channel is structured as a family vlog but the “star” is the child and the content and comments are mostly about the child (Tsai, T. G., [@TsaiGray2018], n.d.). Despite criticism from some regarding the commercialization of his child’s life, the father claimed the YouTube channel serves as a non-commercial, personal archive with future control intended for the child (Shan, 2021). However, as the child grew in popularity, it became involved in monetized activities, including the sale of commemorative merchandise featuring him (Tsai, A-g. & Tsai, E-b, 2020). Also as a result of his social media popularity Tsai Tao-gui became the youngest voice actor in Asia (Wow!Screen, 2019). The family participated in the movie release press conference when the excited father exclaimed, “I hope that Tsai Tao-gui can proudly show off to his friends when he grows up: ‘I entered Hollywood when I was 11 months old!’.”

However, intrinsic motivations beyond popularity and mere recognition or financial gain often constitute the primary drivers for minors seeking to establish themselves as SMIs. A survey reveals that although the majority of Taiwanese children reject the role of SMIs (similar for Taiwanese youth in Kostadinov & Chow, 2025), a significant proportion of them (43.8%) believe their demographic is well-suited to becoming digital influencers. The top three motivating factors are the perceived opportunities for self-expression, the development of communication abilities, and the acquisition of audio-visual development skills (Wang et al., 2021). Similarly, parents are driven by the prospects of understanding and getting along better with their child through playing and working together, hoping to help other parents by sharing parental knowledge, and preserving precious memories (in Gao, 2019; Lu et al., 2017; Shan, 2021).

However, while child influencers may be established by their parents with good intentions, poor management of popularity and monetization of a child’s online presence carries the risk of altering parental perspectives, potentially prioritizing performance, popularity and financial gain over the child’s well-being and rights. Changing parental perspectives represents one of the unique risks inherent in the child influencing landscape; other risks are discussed below.

Risks and concerns for the well-being and rights of child influencers

The unique risks and concerns in the child influencing environment stem from three paradoxes specific to child influencers (Rotimi et al., 2024). First, the labor-play paradox blurs the line between activities presented as enjoyable “play” and those that are essentially commercial “work,” potentially making genuine enjoyment secondary to content creation for profit. This fundamentally impacts a child’s physical and psychological growth, akin to traditional child labor concerns. Second, the dynamic between child autonomy and parental oversight represents a tension where a child’s creative self-expression is shaped by adult guardians. This becomes particularly complex when parents rely on the child’s influencing as a primary income source. Finally, the constant need for publicity for success directly conflicts with a child’s right to privacy, increasing their exposure to risks due to inconsistent legal protections.

Research on child influencers finds that child influencers are vulnerable to psychological and reputational harm, as well as financial exploitation (Clark& Jno-Charles, 2025; Fishbein, 2022). Clark and Jno-Charles (2025) highlight the mental stress from the constant need to produce content for views. They find that child influencers are emotionally vulnerable to online metrics and feedback because parents exploit moments when their children are most uncomfortable or exposed, using these situations to boost audience engagement and gain popularity. Chu (2018) finds that parents involved in influencing may face pressure to accept commercial endorsements that they feel are inauthentic or for products they do not genuinely use, particularly concerning items consumed by or used on the child.

Multiple sources point to the risks of sharing children’s private information because information shared online can be exploited by criminals for identity theft, cyber harassment, or other malicious acts. A lack of privacy threatens the child’s identity formation and holistic development (Livingstone et al., 2018). The privacy risks and concerns apply to all children but are acute for child influencers due to their popularity and increased visibility. When parents consent to third parties to disclose private information for profit, the disclosures might conflict with the child’s best interests, and the child has no mechanism to “object” to this consent given by the parent (Zhang, 2022). Even if parents were to ask for consent, children are often unaware of or cannot comprehend the risks surrounding their exposure online. Consequently, inter alia, this often heightens their vulnerability to peer bullying, making privacy a significant concern (Clark & Jno-Charles, 2025; Miller, 2025; Lin, 2024). Therefore, establishing children as influencers carries unique risks and vulnerabilities and raises some specific concerns. Next, the paper explores and analyses the legal protection mechanisms surrounding child influencers in Taiwan.

Current privacy protections and their limitations in Taiwan

Regulations addressing the unique risks and vulnerabilities of child influencers exist in a few countries. France pioneered child influencer protection in 2020 by requiring licenses and protected accounts for earnings similar to child models or child actors (National Assembly, 2020). Similarly, the US states of Illinois, California, Minnesota and Utah amended their Child Labor Acts to ensure compensation for child SMIs (Miller, 2025).

Taiwan currently lacks specific regulations directly addressing this phenomenon. While existing Taiwanese legal frameworks offer general protections for children, they reveal significant inadequacies when applied to the unique context of online child influencing. For instance, the upcoming White Paper on internet Communication broadly describes risks to children online, including psychological and physical safety risks, privacy risks, and social and reputation risks (National Communications Commission [NCC], 2025). The Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act, also called the Child and Adolescent Act (CAA) (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2021), provides general protections against harmful child labor and exploitation. However, the author reviewed Articles 43-46 and observes they view children as consumers, rather than creators or laborers. This focus is evident in the mandate of agencies like iWIN, authorized under the CAA Article 46, which handles inappropriate consumer-related content complaints but not issues related to children’s online work. Article 48 prohibits work harmful to minors’ health, while Article 49(11) bans their involvement in producing violent, sexual, or obscene media, including online content. Critically, the CAA lacks specific provisions explicitly regulating children’s participation in non-harmful online activities such as influencer content creation, leaving a notable gap in protection.

Similarly, generally, the Labor Standards Act (LSA) (Ministry of Labor,2024) defines child workers as individuals aged 15 to under 16, prohibits employment under 15, and mandates age verification and parental consent documentation. However, although Article 45(4) extends child labor protections to certain non-employment scenarios including minors, it does not explicitly address online work, creating ambiguity around the status of child influencers. It also leaves the legal treatment of minors’ earnings from informal online arrangements undefined, resulting in deficiencies in protecting their financial interests.

Regarding privacy and data protection, while the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) (Preparatory Office of Personal Data Protection Commission, 2023) applies generally and the CAA restricts identifying information in sensitive cases, neither the PDPA nor the CAA explicitly addresses children’s consent for the commercial collection or use of their personal data (see also Kuo, 2022; Hsu, 2021). Furthermore, there are no clear obligations for third parties handling such data in the influencer context, and no statutory requirement for verifiable parental consent. This leaves child influencers insufficiently protected against unauthorized data use.

Finally, the Fair Trade Act (2017) and the Consumer Protection Act (2015) similarly lack rules specifically tailored for child influencers. While general rules against false or misleading advertising (for more, see Abidin Crystal and Hong-Phuc, 2023) might theoretically apply if content is deceptive, these laws lack the specific focus needed to address the unique vulnerabilities and commercial dynamics inherent in child influencing.

The draft law on the Protection of Children’s Online Personal Data (Legislative Yuan, 2020) proposes a legal framework to safeguard children’s data online. However, a 2024 report on the draft, submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to the Legislative Yuan, identifies several concerns, including overlaps with the existing PDPA, the need for clearer definitions regarding the age limit for protection (proposed to be under 12), and disagreements about the narrow scope of the law, particularly the exclusion of non-commercial social networks (in Lin, 2024). The Child Welfare League Foundation (2023) has emphasized the need for a centralized authority with dedicated personnel and resources to oversee children’s online safety. However, the report on the draft law recommends a multi-stakeholder governance model, emphasizing cross-ministerial collaboration, industry self-regulation, third-party reporting, and transparency. According to Yeh and Wu (2022), generally, a potential lack of strong political incentive also impacts regulations on child human rights in Taiwan.

Public disagreement over children’s digital privacy, consent, and online visibility presents a major challenge to effectively regulating child influencer activity. This lack of consensus was evident in the program The Night Show, which aimed to raise awareness about the need to protect minors’ privacy and encourage more responsible sharing practices (Public Television Service, 2024). Through diverse perspectives from parents, children, and experts, the program highlighted ongoing societal tensions over the ethics of parental sharing, children’s evolving sense of agency, and the risks posed by digital exposure. While some advocate for collaborative, child-inclusive approaches to online participation, others prioritize protection and restriction due to concerns over exploitation and data permanence. This divergence underscores a broader cultural ambivalence, where conflicting values—autonomy versus safety, expression versus control—complicate efforts to establish coherent legal frameworks.

Demographic shifts in Taiwan, including an aging population and declining birth rate (Ministry of the Interior, 2025), alongside culturally embedded norms of familial hierarchy may partially account for resistance to regulatory intervention and concerns over governmental overreach. Legislators may hesitate to impose restrictive laws on parental authority given the decreasing number of children. Moreover, children’s compliance with parental expectations in influencer activities may reflect Confucian values of filial piety embedded in the Civil Code, Article 1084 (Ministry of Justice, 2021), deference to elders, and reciprocal intergenerational obligation (Hung, 2023, para. 29–31; Lin & Yi, 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite existing foundational laws, their inadequacies, ambiguities regarding online work, and lack of specific provisions for commercial data use and consent fail to effectively address the unique risks faced by child SMIs in Taiwan. Public disagreement over children’s digital rights, shaped by cultural values and demographic trends in Taiwan, hinders regulatory consensus on child influencers, as tensions between autonomy, protection, and familial authority complicate efforts to implement coherent legal frameworks.