Minors in money-making digital content: the 30% and the 50%

It is the law that sets rules for the money a minor generates by appearing in monetised digital content. It requires setting aside a share of that income in an account in the minor’s name that the adult cannot touch, and gives that person, on turning twenty-one, the right to collect it and also to ask that the content they appeared in as a child be deleted. Two figures sum it up: a 30% minimum reserve, and 50% if the minor appears principally throughout the content.

The obligation falls on “every father, mother, custodian or content creator who obtains income from digital content in which a minor participates.” The law defines the “responsible content creator” as the father or mother with parental authority or the legal guardian who administers the digital account or channel and receives the earnings, and the “minor content creator” as any person who has not reached twenty-one (21) and who takes part in creating or producing digital content generating direct or indirect income. Monetised digital content is that which generates direct or indirect income and includes, without limitation, advertisements, subscriptions, promotions, sponsorships, affiliate links and sales of merchandise or products.

• To open a protected account exclusively in the minor’s name as titular beneficiary, at a financial institution authorised by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) or by the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives of Puerto Rico (COSSEC), in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• To reserve in that account the percentage the law sets: a minimum of thirty per cent (30%) of the income generated by each monetised content, rising to fifty per cent (50%) if the minor appears principally throughout the content.Verified against the official source
• To keep the account separate from the personal patrimony of the father, mother, guardian or custodian.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Thirty per cent, or fifty if they are the lead

   It is the central rule and here it is literally: “The minimum reserve percentage shall be thirty per cent (30%) of the income generated by each monetised content, and shall increase to fifty per cent (50%) if the minor appears principally throughout the content.” Note two things: the 30% is a minimum, and the calculation is per monetised content, not on an annual total.

2. 2

   Step 2: Minor here means under 21

   It is the most misread fact and it changes the whole law’s scope. The definition says: “Minor: shall mean any person who has not reached twenty-one (21) years of age, under the Puerto Rico Civil Code, unless they have been emancipated as provided by law.” The same age is used to define the minor content creator.

3. 3

   Step 3: The protected account and what cannot be done with it

   The law shields it with a list of verbs worth keeping in mind. It is an account “opened exclusively in the minor’s name as titular beneficiary,” and “shall be of a restricted character, so the deposited funds may not be withdrawn, ceded, pledged, encumbered or used for purposes other than the minor’s exclusive benefit until they reach the age of majority or a judicial authorisation grounded in the minor’s optimal interest intervenes.” It adds that it “must be kept separate from the personal patrimony of the father, mother, guardian or custodian, shall not form part of their own estate nor answer for their obligations, and shall generate interest or yields in the minor’s favour.”

4. 4

   Step 4: Where the account is opened

   The law does not leave the institution to chance: the account “may only be opened at a financial institution authorised by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) or by the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives of Puerto Rico (COSSEC), as applicable, in Puerto Rico.” An account outside Puerto Rico does not meet that condition.

5. 5

   Step 5: Three rights on turning twenty-one

   The law enumerates them and the second is the one almost nobody expects. Upon reaching twenty-one (21), the person shall have the right to: “receive the total funds accumulated in their protected account, with the interest generated”; “request the responsible content creator or any digital platform to delete the digital content in which they took part during their minority”; and “claim judicially the income not deposited under this Act, without prejudice to other causes of action available.”

6. 6

   Step 6: What falls outside the law

   There are three exceptions and they are worth reading in full before assuming the law applies. It shall not apply to content on “news, documentary or public-interest coverage where the minor appears incidentally”; “non-profit educational or school use”; and “sporadic or intermittent appearances in public spaces without direct or indirect monetisation attributable to the minor’s image.” The third carries two conditions at once: sporadic or intermittent, and without monetisation attributable to their image.

7. 7

   Step 7: There will be daily exposure limits

   The law treats it as a labour matter and assigns it to the Labour Department. “By virtue of the Constitutional mandate, the Department of Labour and Human Resources must establish, by regulation, the daily limits to which the minor may be exposed to digital production, taking into account the harm to health or morals that digital work may cause, or that in any way threatens the minor’s life or physical integrity.” We publish no limit because the law sets none: it refers it to the regulation, which we did not read.

8. 8

   Step 8: Who enforces and how much the fine is

   The Department of Labour and Human Resources adopts the enforcement regulations, which must establish “norms on working conditions, limits and protection against digital exposure, as well as mechanisms of inspection, audit, imposition of fines, sanctions and administrative procedures to address complaints or breaches.” And on the sanction: it “may impose fines of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for non-compliance,” which shall constitute enforceable debts and may be recovered by civil action in the name of the Secretary of Labour and Human Resources. OCIF and COSSEC regulate the protected accounts, including opening, administration, supervision, custody, periodic reports and audits.

9. 9

   Step 9: There is guidance for families too

   The law charges two agencies to work together: “The Department of the Family, in collaboration with the Department of Education, shall implement educational programmes to orient fathers, mothers, guardians and minors about the rights, risks and obligations related to minors’ participation in monetised digital content.”

The protected account is opened at a financial institution authorised by OCIF or COSSEC in Puerto Rico, in the minor’s name. Enforcement, inspections and fines fall to the Department of Labour and Human Resources, which must also set the daily exposure limits by regulation. OCIF and COSSEC regulate the accounts. On turning twenty-one, the claim for income not deposited is judicial. If your matter is the employment permit for minors generally, or the right over one’s own image, those have their own guides here.

• Believing “minor” here means under 18: this law defines it as any person who has not reached twenty-one (21).
• Setting aside 30% and taking it for granted: it rises to fifty per cent (50%) if the minor appears principally throughout the content.
• Mixing the money with the adult’s account: the law requires a separate account, in the minor’s name, which does not answer for the obligations of the father, mother, guardian or custodian.
• Opening the account at any institution: only one authorised by OCIF or COSSEC, in Puerto Rico, counts.
• Touching the funds early: they may not be withdrawn, ceded, pledged or encumbered until majority or a judicial authorisation grounded in the minor’s best interest.
• Thinking that at twenty-one only the money is collected: the law adds the right to request the content’s deletion and to claim judicially what was not deposited.
• Assuming every appearance counts: incidental news coverage, non-profit educational or school use and sporadic appearances without monetisation attributable to the minor’s image are excluded.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos (DTRH)

  Departamento del Trabajo

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov