An unsubstantiated online theory has recently taken hold, claiming that family vloggers are fleeing Los Angeles to escape newly introduced California laws designed to protect children featured in online content.
In recent years, several states have introduced new legislation aimed at protecting child influencers from exploitation. In September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom, with support from former child star Demi Lovato, signed two key bills designed to “ensure children and teenagers who perform in online content are protected from financial abuse.”
One of the most important bits of the new legislation “establishes financial and legal protections for minors featured in monetized online content (i.e. child vloggers) by mandating that their parent or guardian set aside a percentage of their earnings in trust accounts.” With the passing of the law, California became the third state in the country to legislate protections for influencer kids, joining Illinois and Minnesota.
Attention has now shifted to influencers whose children feature heavily in their content, some of whom have made seemingly abrupt moves across the country. Videos speculating about the real reasons for these relocations have gone viral, racking up millions of views. But the influencers themselves insist the moves have nothing to do with California’s new laws.
Over the past year, several high-profile family influencers have either relocated from California to Tennessee or announced plans to do so. This includes the LaBrant family, who have 12.8 million YouTube subscribers; TikToker Cecily Bauchmann, who has 2.2 million followers; and Brittany Xavier, who has 5.1 million followers on TikTok.
“I feel like that’s a little suspicious,” one TikTok creator posted. “I wonder how many of those are a direct correlation to the fact that now they have to pay their children.”
All of the families have publicly denied the new California law influenced their move. Fast Company has reached out to the LaBrants, Bauchmann, and Xavier for comment but has not heard back as of publication.
After users began flooding Xavier’s social media posts with comments regarding this theory, the influencer took to TikTok to shut down the rumors. “It has been a wild week on TikTok,” she says into the camera as she does her makeup. She goes on to cite a mold issue in their rental home as the reason for their hasty relocation. “The assumption that we moved to avoid paying our children is so laughable,” she says. “My income doesn’t depend on if my kids are in my videos or not. But we’ve always made sure to set them up financially regardless.”
However, many in the comments remain unconvinced. “‘Found mold’ = laws changed,” one person wrote. Another added: “Brittany the likes and replies aren’t helping the cause.”
Another theory is that influencers are leaving California due to its political leanings. Xavier herself hinted at political motivations when responding to a comment suggesting she “wanted a red state”: “CA leadership is a mess at the moment, they need help. Hoping here has competent leadership, we shall see.”
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