News
US states are finally starting to put in place protections for the kids of family vloggers
Jessica Maddox, University of Alabama
Ruby Franke was once one of the most popular YouTube family vloggers, posting videos featuring her husband and six children on her channel, 8 Passengers, that racked up over 1 billion views.
In some, she chronicled their family vacations and family activities, such as painting together. In others, she detailed how she banned her 16-year-old son from sleeping in his bedroom for seven months and threatened to behead a stuffed animal.
In August 2023, Franke was charged with child abuse and pleaded guilty four months later.
While the crimes that led to the charges, such as denying her kids water and handcuffing them for extended periods of time, didn’t appear on 8 Passengers, her children viewed the vlogging as a larger pattern of abuse.
In October 2024, 21-year-old Shari Franke, Ruby’s oldest daughter, testified to Utah lawmakers about what being a child influencer against her will had done to her.
“I come today as a victim of family vlogging,” Shari said, “to shed light on the ethical and monetary issues that come from being a child influencer.” She added, “If I could go back and do it all again, I’d rather have an empty bank account now and not have my childhood plastered all over the internet. No amount of money I received has made what I’ve experienced worth it.”
Her testimony took place just a few weeks after California passed a law mandating that a portion of proceeds from social media content featuring kids must be set aside in a trust for the child when they turn 18.
I’m a social media researcher who’s spent the past two years advocating for the children of family vloggers. As recently as 18 months ago, I’d written about how there were no legal protections for the children of influencers, even as child actors have robust laws in place to protect their earnings.
Now that’s starting to change – but there’s still more work to be done.
New laws for a new age
Some children featured in their parents’ social media content go viral as toddlers; others have their first menstrual cycles broadcast to the world; and they can be pressured by their parents to be the talent that sustains their family’s financial livelihood.
California has the Coogan Act, which protects the financial interests of entertainers under 18. But this was passed in 1939, long before the rise of social media; until recently, there has been no comparable Coogan Act for the children of family vloggers.
In August 2023, however, Illinois became the first U.S. state to pass a law protecting the financial interests of the children of family vlogging. The bill requires parents to put aside 50% of the earnings for a piece of content featuring their child. The money must go into a trust that the child can access upon turning 18. If there’s no money available for them, they can sue their parents.
Minnesota was the next state to pass this kind of legislation, in May 2024. This one went beyond financial considerations, prohibiting children under 14 from appearing in more than 30% of their parents’ social media content. If children do appear in these videos and the videos are monetized, money must be put into an account, similar to Illinois.
In December 2023, I consulted with legislators on drafts of California’s measure. This bill, which was signed into law in September 2024, is similar to Illinois’ law but has been considered an important step in regulating family vlogging content given the state’s relationship with the entertainment industry.
Work is work
These laws are not geared toward the casual parent who wants to share a picture of their child on Facebook or Instagram. They’re putting guardrails in place for a form of child labor that, until recently, has gone wildly unchecked.
In the spring of 2024, I provided written testimony to the state of Missouri, which was considering its own law. I pointed out that there are more than 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, TikTok boasts more than 150 million active monthly users in the U.S. alone, and Instagram users watch 17.6 million hours of Reels per day. I explained how, over the past decade, I’ve interviewed over 150 content creators and influencers – and I’ll often hear them say they’ve been paid upward of $8,000 per post.
Brand sponsorships remain a gray area in these laws; most of the new legislation encompasses only payments directly from platforms. But I want to emphasize that we’re not talking about a few extra bucks here and there. It can be enough money to raise a family. And it’s work – for everyone involved.
What’s next
Illinois, Minnesota and California may have passed laws, but the issue remains on the table elsewhere.
Washington state has tried to introduce such a bill, and Shari Franke’s testimony came as Utah begins considering its own legislation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2xi4-IMnTc?wmode=transparent&start=0 Ruby Franke’s oldest daughter, Shari, testifies before the Utah Legislature in October 2024.
However, I believe that any work on combating the problem of exploiting children for social media demands a holistic approach.
Importantly, children cannot consent to appearing in their parents’ content. While it may seem fun to appear in mom or dad’s video, young children have no concept of the internet’s dangers. They don’t understand that content can move beyond its intended audience. They don’t understand that the internet is forever – that one day, when they’re applying to college or for jobs, Google search results may yield their baby photos.
In 2023, Maryland attempted to introduce legislation that would include Right To Be Forgotten provisions – an addendum allowing children to request social media platforms delete content about them when they turn 18. The measure never gained momentum, and the bill stalled. But states can look to the European Union, which has some of the strongest Right to Be Forgotten legislation in the world, for inspiration.
Social media platforms also have a role to play. If they wanted to, they could regulate or ban monetized content centered on children. That being said, family vlogging content is a moneymaker for platforms: It racks up billions of views, which keeps audiences on the hosting site, such as YouTube or Instagram, for longer. So you might assume that platforms would never intervene on their own if it risked hurting their bottom line.
But one thing I’ve learned from studying social media platform governance is that public opinion matters. And in my ongoing research on family vlogging, I’ve witnessed a massive shift in public opinion over the past two years, as the press pays more attention to the phenomenon, content creators and audiences are more critical of it, and former children of family vloggers, like Shari Franke, tell their stories.
If platforms can quickly churn out their own versions of AI chatbots, they can build teams to figure out how to help regulate and enforce family vlogging legislation in the U.S. – and have the opportunity, in my view, to be on the right side of history.
Jessica Maddox, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Creative Media, University of Alabama
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Woman Charged With Felony Animal Cruelty in Santa Ana Puppy Killing
Santa Ana Puppy Killing: Prosecutors have filed felony charges against a 75-year-old Anaheim woman accused of deliberately running over and killing her puppy, Blackey, in Santa Ana.
Last Updated on October 3, 2026 by Daily News Staff
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 75-year-old Anaheim woman accused of deliberately running over and killing her puppy on a Santa Ana street has now been formally charged with felony animal cruelty, marking a major development in a case that drew widespread attention after surveillance video was released by police.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, October 2, that Hanh Minh Nguyen, 75, of Anaheim, has been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, one felony count of animal abuse by a caretaker, and a felony enhancement alleging the personal use of a weapon — a vehicle — to kill the animal.
Nguyen was arrested by Santa Ana police on Thursday, October 1, after investigators used automated license plate reader technology to identify the green Honda Odyssey seen in surveillance footage from the September 8 incident. Police subsequently located Nguyen and found the minivan at her Anaheim residence.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Nguyen was released from custody after posting $20,000 bail. She is scheduled to appear at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on November 2, 2026, in Department C55.
Surveillance video led to investigation
The case began on September 8 at approximately 9:15 a.m., when Santa Ana Animal Services officers responded to a report of a dead black-and-white male pit bull-mix puppy on West Park Lane.
Surveillance footage obtained during the investigation showed a woman removing the puppy from a minivan and placing food near the driver’s side of the vehicle. Authorities allege the woman then slowly drove forward as the puppy approached the food, running over the animal with the vehicle’s rear tire before leaving the scene.
The puppy, identified by authorities as Blackey, died.
The District Attorney’s Office describes Blackey as a 9-week-old puppy. Earlier statements and local news reports described him as approximately 9 months old.
Santa Ana police released surveillance footage of the incident on September 30 and appealed to the public for help identifying the driver.
Within a day, investigators said automated license plate reader technology helped them trace the Honda Odyssey to Nguyen. Police found the vehicle in her garage and took her into custody.
Police previously said Nguyen acknowledged owning and abandoning Blackey. According to the Los Angeles Times, a Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson said Nguyen told detectives she had left the puppy because he had been annoying her boyfriend by biting his shoes and belongings. Police said she acknowledged abandoning the dog but did not admit to intentionally running him over.
Prosecutors file felony charges
The filing of felony charges moves the case beyond the initial police investigation and into the Orange County court system.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer condemned the alleged killing in announcing the charges and said his office intends to prosecute acts of violence against animals.
Deputy District Attorney Danica Drotman of the Orange County District Attorney’s Animal Cruelty Unit is prosecuting the case.
Nguyen is accused of the offenses and has not been convicted. The allegations against her will now be addressed through the court process.
Her next scheduled court appearance is November 2.
STM Daily News will continue following the case and provide updates as additional information becomes available.
Source and Related Links
- Orange County District Attorney — October 2 charging announcement
- The DA’s release is the strongest source for this update. It provides case number 26CF4923, the exact charges, $20,000 bail, November 2 court date and the prosecutor assigned to the case. Orange County District Attorney
- For corroborating coverage, CBS Los Angeles reports the arrest, use of automated license-plate readers and the subsequent felony charges. CBS News
- CBS Los Angeles — arrest and charges update
- NBC Los Angeles — felony charges update
College Life
Is College Worth It? New U.S. News Rankings Put More Weight on What Graduates Earn
Is college worth it? MIT has taken the No. 1 spot in the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, ending Princeton’s 15-year run. But a new Earnings by Major metric could be even more important for families asking whether college is worth the investment.
For millions of students and families, choosing a college increasingly comes down to a basic question: Is college worth it?
The latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings are attempting to provide another piece of information to help answer that question.
The 2027 rankings place the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at No. 1 among National Universities, ending Princeton University’s 15-year run at the top. But perhaps the bigger story for prospective students isn’t which university occupies the No. 1 position.
It’s a significant change in how U.S. News measures the value of attending college.
For the first time, the rankings include an Earnings by Major factor designed to examine what graduates earn after leaving school — and to compare those earnings with graduates who studied the same subjects elsewhere.
Is College Worth It? U.S. News Looks Beyond Graduation
College has traditionally been promoted as an investment in a person’s future. But as families confront tuition, housing expenses and the possibility of student debt, simply earning a degree may no longer be enough information when deciding where — or whether — to attend.
Students increasingly want to know what happens after graduation.
The new U.S. News Earnings by Major metric examines graduate earnings four years after graduation using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
Importantly, the system doesn’t simply compare the average salary of graduates from one university with another.
Instead, earnings are compared within specific academic disciplines.
That distinction matters.
A university graduating large numbers of engineers, computer scientists or students entering other relatively high-paying occupations could otherwise appear to produce stronger financial outcomes simply because of the subjects its students choose to study.
Comparing graduates within similar fields is intended to provide a clearer picture of how graduates from different institutions fare financially.
From Student Debt to Graduate Earnings
The new Earnings by Major metric replaces the Graduate Indebtedness factor previously used by U.S. News.
That represents an important shift in perspective.
Instead of focusing primarily on how much debt students accumulate, the new measure looks at one aspect of what students may receive financially from their education after entering the workforce.
The metric examines employed federal financial aid recipients whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree.
According to U.S. News, the approach is intended to reduce the influence of family financial advantages and provide a better indication of the economic value institutions may contribute to graduates.
That doesn’t mean earnings alone determine whether a college education is worthwhile.
But for a student potentially investing tens of thousands of dollars — and several years of their life — knowing how graduates in a particular major perform economically can be an important part of the decision.
MIT Takes the No. 1 Spot
Against that changing methodology, MIT moved into the No. 1 position among National Universities in the 2027 rankings.
The top three are:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Princeton University
- Harvard University
Princeton’s move to second place ends a run at No. 1 that began with the 2012 edition of the rankings.
Among National Liberal Arts Colleges, Williams College remained No. 1, followed by Amherst College at No. 2. Bowdoin College, Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College and Swarthmore College tied for third.
Nearly 1,700 institutions were evaluated in the 2027 edition.
Outcomes Are Becoming a Bigger Part of the Equation
The addition of graduate earnings is part of a broader emphasis on student outcomes in the U.S. News methodology.
U.S. News says outcomes now account for more than half of a school’s total score.
Institutions can be evaluated using as many as 17 weighted measures, including graduation and retention rates, social mobility for lower-income students, post-graduate earnings, faculty resources and academic peer assessments.
The shift reflects a changing conversation surrounding higher education.
For generations, students were often encouraged to focus heavily on getting into the most prestigious college possible. Today’s students may also be asking more practical questions:
How much will it cost?
How much financial aid will I receive?
How much debt might I have when I graduate?
What do graduates in my intended major earn?
And perhaps most importantly:
Will the investment pay off for me?
College Value Isn’t Just About Salary
Graduate earnings can provide useful information, but salary shouldn’t be treated as the sole measurement of the value of higher education.
Different careers have dramatically different compensation structures.
A graduate pursuing teaching, public service, social work, the arts or nonprofit work may earn less than someone entering engineering, finance or technology while still considering their education worthwhile.
There are also benefits of higher education that are difficult to capture in a salary statistic.
That’s why students comparing schools may want to look beyond an institution’s overall ranking and examine factors such as net price after financial aid, scholarships, graduation rates, student debt, internship opportunities, career placement, location and the strength of the program they actually intend to study.
The best-known university isn’t automatically the best financial or educational choice for every student.
Economic Diversity Also Gets Attention
The 2027 rankings also highlight economic diversity among highly ranked institutions.
According to U.S. News, MIT and Princeton rank third and fourth, respectively, among the top 25 National Universities in the percentage of students receiving federal Pell Grants.
Pell Grants generally assist undergraduate students with significant financial need and typically do not have to be repaid.
Among the top 25 National Liberal Arts Colleges, Amherst College ranked highest for economic diversity under the U.S. News measure.
A New Ranking Looks at In-State Value
U.S. News is also placing additional attention on affordability for students considering public universities.
The 2027 edition introduces a Best Value Schools for In-State Students ranking, which evaluates public universities based on academic quality and affordability for residents.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took the No. 1 position in the inaugural ranking.
That category could be particularly relevant to families deciding whether the prestige associated with attending a private or out-of-state university justifies potentially higher costs compared with attending a public institution in their home state.
The Rankings Look Different This Year
There is another important caveat when comparing the 2027 results with previous years.
Changes to the Carnegie Classification framework resulted in approximately 20% of previously ranked institutions moving into different U.S. News categories.
Because some colleges are now being compared against different groups of institutions, their 2027 rankings may not be directly comparable with previous years.
The changes also expanded eligibility, allowing additional institutions specializing in areas such as engineering, business and health to enter the rankings.
U.S. News also introduced an undergraduate economics specialty ranking while continuing rankings covering areas such as social mobility, innovation, historically Black colleges and universities, artificial intelligence programs, internships, undergraduate research and study-abroad opportunities.
Public Universities, HBCUs and Social Mobility
Among public National Universities, the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA tied for the No. 1 position, followed by the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.
The top three Historically Black Colleges and Universities were:
- Spelman College
- Howard University
- Tuskegee University
For social mobility among National Universities, Florida International University and the University of California, Riverside tied for No. 1, with Oakland City University ranked third.
These categories illustrate another reason students may want to look deeper than a school’s overall national position. Different rankings can reveal institutions performing particularly well in areas that may matter more to an individual student.
So, Is College Worth It?
There isn’t one answer that applies to every student.
The cost of attending, financial aid, chosen major, career goals, likelihood of graduating and potential debt can dramatically change the financial equation.
A college with a famous name and high national ranking could be a poor financial choice for one student while a less prominent public university with generous financial aid could be an excellent investment for another.
That’s what makes the addition of Earnings by Major noteworthy.
Instead of asking only “Which college ranks highest?”, prospective students now have another reason to ask a much more personal question:
“What am I paying for — and what could I realistically get in return?”
MIT replacing Princeton at No. 1 makes the headline.
But for students and parents trying to decide whether college is worth the cost, the growing emphasis on outcomes, affordability and post-graduation earnings may ultimately be the more important story.
Source: U.S. News & World Report, 2027 Best Colleges rankings, released September 22, 2026.
U.S. News & World Report press release:
MIT Claims No. 1 Spot in U.S. News 2027 Best Colleges Rankings PR Newswire
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Forgotten Genius Fridays
Sarah Boone Improved the Ironing Board by Thinking About the Sleeve
Sarah Boone didn’t invent the first ironing board. The New Haven dressmaker patented a clever improvement shaped for pressing sleeves and fitted clothing.
Forgotten Genius | STM Daily News
Try ironing a sleeve on a wide, flat board. The fabric bunches, the seams curve, and pressing one side can leave a crease on the other. For dressmaker Sarah Boone, that everyday frustration presented a problem she could solve.
Working in New Haven, Connecticut, Boone designed an ironing board shaped for sleeves and fitted garments. Her board was narrow enough for a sleeve to slip over it, allowing one side to be pressed without flattening the other. Its curved edges followed the lines of a sleeve’s seams, while its supports helped position the board for different uses.
Boone filed her patent application in 1891. On April 26, 1892, she received U.S. Patent No. 473,653 for her improvement.
Boone did not invent the first ironing board. What she patented was a thoughtful redesign for a particular task. That distinction makes her achievement more interesting: she understood how the tool was used, recognized where it fell short, and changed its shape to make the work easier.
The patent drawing brings her idea to life. Instead of the broad surface most people picture when they hear “ironing board,” Boone’s design looks almost like the part of a garment it was meant to support. It is a practical solution from someone who knew the job firsthand.
That is the heart of Sarah Boone’s story. Invention does not always begin with an entirely new machine. Sometimes it begins when a person doing familiar work asks a better question: What would this tool look like if it truly fit the task?
Boone answered with a design—and secured a place in the history of Black innovation.
References:
Sarah Boone’s Original Ironing Board Patent — U.S. Patent No. 473,653, granted April 26, 1892. Includes her description, construction details, and original drawings.
USPTO: Beyond Baker’s List—Black Innovation Then and Now — Identifies Boone as a New Haven dressmaker who patented an improved ironing board shaped for bodices and sleeves.
USPTO: Found on Baker’s List — Background on Henry Baker’s work documenting Black patent holders, providing historical context for the Forgotten Genius series.
Explore more inventors and innovators in STM Daily News’ Forgotten Genius series.
Sources: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Sarah Boone’s original 1892 patent, available through Google Patents.
