wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2400 > Original Bill
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Content creator" means an individual who creates, posts, shares, or otherwise interacts with digital content on a social media service. Content creators include, but are not limited to, vloggers, podcasters, social media influencers, and streamers.
"Compensated social media video content" means video content shared on a social media service:
That meets the social media service's threshold for providing compensation to the vlogger; or
In relation to which a third-party advertiser provided compensation to the vlogger.
"Compensation" means any money, property, product, virtual currency or item, service, income, gross proceeds of sales, fees, commissions, royalties, dividends, other emoluments however designated, and anything of value whatsoever.
"Department" means the department of revenue.
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"Social media service" means a public-facing website or application that:
Displays content that is primarily generated by account holders and not by the social media company;
Permits an individual to register as an account holder and create a profile that is made visible to the general public or a set of other users defined by the account holder;
Connects account holders to allow users to interact socially with each other within the website or application;
Makes available to each account holder a list or lists of other account holders with whom the account holder shares a connection within the system; and
Allows account holders to post content viewable by other users.
"Social media service" does not include:
Email;
Cloud storage; or
Document viewing, sharing, or collaboration services.
"Substantial nexus" has the same meaning as in RCW 82.04.067.
"Third-party advertiser" means any person including any proprietorship, partnership, company, or other corporate entity that has a contractual relationship with and provides compensation to a vlogger in relation to advertising a product or service.
"Vlogger" means a person who creates compensated social media video content and includes any proprietorship, partnership, company, or other corporate entity assuming the name or identity of a particular individual or family for the purposes of that content creation. "Vlogger" does not include any person under the age of 18 who produces their own content.
A vlogger meeting the criteria under subsection (2) of this section is deemed to be engaged in business activity and must register with the department under RCW 82.32.030.
This section applies to a vlogger with a substantial nexus with Washington who, within the previous 12-month period, received a total of $12,000 or more in compensation from compensated social media video content.
For purposes of applying this section, compensation must be determined without any deduction on account of any costs, interest, discount, taxes, or any other expense whatsoever paid or accrued and without any deduction on account of losses.
A violation of this section is punishable as provided in section 7 of this act.
A social media service or any third-party advertiser with a substantial nexus with Washington shall establish a trust account for the benefit of a minor child of a vlogger when the minor child's likeness, name, or photograph is present in a video segment published by the vlogger and the social media service or third-party advertiser compensates the vlogger in relation to the video segment. The social media service or third-party advertiser shall fund the trust account in accordance with subsection (2) of this section. The funds in a trust account must be preserved for the benefit of the minor, made available to the former minor upon reaching age 18, and paid into an account of the former minor's choosing upon request.
A social media service and a third-party advertiser must set aside an amount of compensation in a trust account as provided in this section. For any video segment that includes the likeness, name, or photograph of the vlogger's minor child, the social media service or third-party advertiser must withhold a pro rata percentage of the total compensation the social media service or third-party advertiser would otherwise provide to the vlogger in relation to the video segment and deposit the withheld funds in the minor's trust account. For the purpose of this section, "pro rata percentage" means an amount equal to the percent of time the vlogger's minor child appeared or was referenced in a video segment.
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Where only one minor child's likeness, name, or photograph is included in a vlogger's video segment, the percentage of total compensation on any video segment including the likeness, name, or photograph of the minor child that must be deposited in the minor's trust account is equal to the amount provided in subsection (2) of this section.
Where more than one minor child's likeness, name, or photograph is included in a vlogger's video segment, the compensation with respect to that video segment must be equally divided between the minor children according to subsection (2) of this section, regardless of differences in percentage of content provided by the individual children.
A violation of this section is punishable as provided in section 7 of this act.
Beginning April 1, 2027, and by April 1st of each year thereafter, a social media service with a substantial nexus with Washington must submit a report with the following information to the department:
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who are located in Washington;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who meet the social media service's threshold for providing compensation;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who meet the social media service's threshold for providing compensation who are located in Washington;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who meet the social media service's threshold for providing compensation, are located in Washington, and are under age 18;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who are vloggers who include their minor children in compensated social media video content;
The total number of accounts of content creators on the social media service who are vloggers located in Washington who include their minor children in compensated social media video content;
The total number of video segments in the preceding year for which compensation was provided to a vlogger posted by vloggers who include their minor children in compensated social media video content;
The total amount of revenue received by the social media service in the preceding year from advertising related to content published by all content creators on the platform;
The total amount of revenue received by the social media service in the preceding year from advertising related to content published by vloggers who include their minor children in compensated social media video content;
The total amount of revenue received by the social media service in the preceding year from advertising related to content published by vloggers located in Washington who include their minor children in compensated social media video content; and
An explanation of any limitations on accurately providing the information identified in this section.
Upon the age of 18 and until an individual reaches age 23, an individual may request the permanent deletion of any specified video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post that includes the likeness, name, or photograph of the individual taken or recorded at the time the individual was under the age of 18, from any social media service on which it was published or appears, if the video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post was monetized on any social media service. A request by an individual under this section must include a link to, or a digital copy of, the video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post to which the request applies.
Within 30 days of receiving a request under this section, a social media service must take all reasonable steps to permanently delete the specified video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post containing the requestor's childhood likeness, name, or photograph, or comply with subsection (3) of this section.
As an alternative to deletion, a social media service may remove or obscure the requesting individual's childhood likeness, name, or photograph from the specified video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post.
After a request is submitted under this section, a social media service must continually monitor content on its platform and take all reasonable steps to permanently delete, or comply with subsection (3) of this section, with respect to the video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post to which a request was timely submitted under subsection (1) of this section if the video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post is published again by any person at any time. A social media service shall comply with this subsection (4) within 30 days of a video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post being published again by any person.
A violation of this section is punishable as provided in section 7 of this act.
Social media services with a substantial nexus with Washington must make information available to users regarding the registration requirement of section 2 of this act, the rights of minor children of vloggers to compensation under section 3 of this act, and the rights of individuals related to content removal under section 5 of this act.
A violation of this section is punishable as provided in section 7 of this act.
A violation of section 2 of this act is punishable by a civil penalty of $1,000, enforceable by the department or the attorney general.
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A violation of section 3 of this act is enforceable through a civil cause of action in district or superior court, subject to the jurisdictional limit of district courts in RCW 3.66.020, by an individual in whose benefit a trust account was or should have been established pursuant to section 3 of this act. Upon finding a violation of section 3 of this act, a court may award actual damages or impose a statutory penalty, whichever is greater, to be awarded to the harmed individual, in addition to their costs of the suit, and a reasonable attorney's fee. A court may also provide injunctive relief and any other relief the court finds just and equitable to enforce section 3 of this act.
Actual damages for a violation of section 3 of this act is the amount of compensation a social media service or third-party advertiser should have deposited to an individual's trust account pursuant to section 3 of this act, plus a reasonable amount of interest to be determined by the court.
Statutory damages for a violation of section 3 of this act are:
$50,000 for a failure to establish a trust account; and
$50,000 for each video that includes the likeness, name, or photograph of the vlogger's minor child visually or as the subject of an oral narrative in a video segment for which a trust account deposit was required pursuant to section 3 of this act but not made.
A violation of section 4 of this act is punishable by a civil penalty of $1,000, enforceable by the department or the attorney general.
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A violation of section 5 of this act is enforceable through a civil cause of action in district or superior court, subject to the jurisdictional limit of district courts in RCW 3.66.020, by an individual who submitted a timely request under section 5 of this act. Upon finding a violation of section 5 of this act, a court may impose a statutory penalty, to be awarded to the harmed individual, in addition to their costs of the suit, and a reasonable attorney's fee. A court may also provide injunctive relief and any other relief the court finds just and equitable to enforce section 5 of this act.
The statutory penalty for a violation of section 5 of this act is $10,000 per violation. Each video segment, audio segment, image, text, or other post to which a request applies is a separate violation and penalty.
A violation of section 6 of this act is punishable by a civil penalty of $5,000, enforceable by the department or the attorney general.
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.