Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark Should You Be Posting Your Kids Online? | Author Leah Plunkett
Apr 28, 2026
Leah Plunkett, legal scholar and author focused on family privacy in the digital age, explains why posting kids online is riskier now. She discusses the rise of the family influencer economy, how AI amplifies harms, and legal responses to monetized sharenting. Short practical rules and cleanup strategies are also explored.
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Law Is Reacting To Monetized Sharenting
- States are starting to treat monetized parental posts as rights issues, with Minnesota already allowing minors to remove monetized content at 14.
- Leah Plunkett links this to Coogan-style protections and the rise of child digital entertainers.
Protect Kids Who Generate Income Online
- If kids are earning from online content, require legal guardrails like blocked accounts and protections similar to Coogan laws.
- Leah Plunkett warns influencer monetization often lacks provisions to reserve earnings for the child performer.
AI Enables Virtual Kidnapping Scams
- AI can repurpose a child's image or voice to extort family members via virtual kidnapping or social engineering.
- Leah Plunkett cites a student warning about grandparents lacking skills to detect AI-based fraud and recommends family safe words.
