'I was a victim of 'family vlogging'. It wasn't a sweet window into my life, it was child labour.'

Shari Franke was only nine-years old when her mother created a family YouTube channel and started filming her and her five siblings. Five days a week, her face would be uploaded to the internet for millions to see. 

By 2020, the channel called '8 Passengers' already had over two million subscribers. 

Now that she's an adult, Shari, 21, has finally broken her silence.

Speaking to the Utah Senate Committee, Shari shared her experience of being shoved in front of the camera at a young age, and condemned parents who exploit their children for profit by uploading videos of them online. 

Watch part of Shari Franke's testimony. Article continues after video. 

She explained that for many successful vlogging families, sharing their children's lives online quickly becomes a lucrative source of income.

"The difference between family vlogging and a normal business, however, is that all the children are employees," Shari said. "Children from before they are born until the day they turn 18 have become stars of family businesses on Youtube, Instagram and other social media platforms.

"At first, family vlogging is an alluring business that can bring high revenue. For my family, it became the primary source of income, as is often the case with most full time family vloggers."

Now that she is grown, Shari said that no amount of money was worth having her childhood streamed to millions of people worldwide.

"There is never ever a good reason for posting your children online for money or fame," she said. "There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger."

While Shari did receive an allowance of money for her appearances, she said that this often took the form of bribes.

"Many child influencers are paid for their work, as I was, and this money has helped me in my adult life. However, this payment was usually a bribe.

"For example, we'd be rewarded $100 or a shopping trip if we filmed a particularly embarrassing moment or an exciting event in our lives. Or other times, simply going on vacation was expected to be payment enough, as most kids don't get to go on regular and expensive trips, never mind that the child's labour is actually what paid for the vacation or trip," she said.

Looking back now, she would not wish this existence on any other young children.

"Despite a good paycheck, I want to be absolutely clear that there is no amount of money that can justify selling your soul as a child, to the world. 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," she explained.

The Utah Senate Committee is looking into the impacts of being a 'kidfluencer' and the ethics behind placing a child in front of the camera for views, fame and income.

Shari's words come at a time where states all across America are looking at their child-influencers laws in a new light. Three states, including Illinois, Minnesota and California have already passed laws that ensure financial and privacy protections for child influencers online.

Given Utah has become a hotspot for family vlogging content in recent years, the state of Utah will be the next in line to examine their laws surrounding the child-influencer space.

Shari points out that even when the children in question are paid, there is no formal structure around how much.

She said, "There is no law in place to ensure that child influencers get any money from their work, and how do we determine how much a child should make from appearing in family content? What price is worth giving up your childhood?

Her testimony spoke to the detrimental effects that family vlogging can have on young children, who have no choice in being thrown into the influencing space.

"One of our most popular videos was when my eyebrow was accidentally waxed off, and the whole world saw a crying teenager when I just wanted to mourn in private," she said.

"As children we do not understand the consequences of filming our lives and posting it for the world to see. We cannot give consent to our parents to post our lives. In any other context it is understood that children cannot give consent, but for some reason, people think family vlogging is different. "In addition, pedophiles stalk the internet specifically seeking out child influencers. I promise you that parents are aware of these predators and choose to post their children anyway," she continued.

"As child influencers in Utah continue to grow up, I foresee there will be legal crises with these children, realising that vlogging has brought severe emotional distress. Or, these kids may realise they don't have an appropriate amount of money to show for their labour."

Image: Instagram/moms_of_truth

Shari Franke may have been an internet sensation due to the success of '8 Passengers' but her family have come under even more scrutiny since her mother, Ruby Franke, was found guilty of four counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse.

Ruby and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were both taken into custody after Ruby's 12-year old son escaped to a neighbour's house, pleading for food and water. Ruby Franke will face up to fifteen years in jail for each of the four counts, to be served consecutively.

Despite her family's own specific and devastating circumstances, Shari was clear during her speech that the devastating impact of family vlogging is present for other children, and not unique to her family. "My mother, Ruby Franke, is the prominent family vlogger arrested last year for child abuse. I don't come today as the daughter of a felon, nor a victim of an abnormally abusive mother," she said. "I come today as a victim of family vlogging.

"I don't want people to look at me and blame my unique circumstances with a mother in prison, to the Franke criminal case. Family vlogging ruined my innocence long before Ruby committed a crime.

"I promise you that my experiences are not unique, and happening to child influencers all over Utah and the country. So let's tackle this crisis before it becomes a bigger issue than it already is.

Read more: Ruby Franke's children are speaking out, following the abuse they endured at the hands of their mother.

Feature image: Instagram / KSL TV.