Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — After Ruby Franke was arrested, convicted and sentenced for child abuse, her daughter Shari Franke was seemingly careful of her engagement with public comment afterward. On Wednesday, Shari Franke, 21, broke her silence in a public appearance at the Capitol.
She spoke to lawmakers on the Business and Labor Interim Committee Wednesday, advocating for more protections for child influencers.
Shari Franke, Ruby Franke's oldest daughter, made some comments throughout the process of her mother's case, beginning with a since-deleted Instagram post that showed a photo of police outside the Franke residence in Springville. The post was captioned with a single word: "Finally."
After that, Shari Franke remained mostly silent and even told reporters through her attorney that she did not want to comment while at a hearing for her mother in September 2023.
On Tuesday, Franke shared some additional big news on social media that she would be publishing a book titled "The House of My Mother," which is set to be published in January 2025.
"This book will cover the painful journey and experiences of growing up under intense public scrutiny," she said in the caption. "For years, millions tuned in, captivated by our lives, unaware of the darker realities that unfolded behind the scenes. And for the first time, I share my journey of finding myself outside of my childhood home."
Shari Franke's statement
Wednesday's meeting at the Capitol was a chance for Franke to speak to the Business and Labor Interim Committee on the "issue of minors and social media," according to the meeting agenda.
"I don't come today as the daughter of a felon nor as a victim of an abnormally abusive mother," Franke said. "I come today as a victim of family vlogging."
In her opening statements, she told the committee her goal was "not to present any idea of a solution to this problem, but to shed light on the ethical and monetary issues that come from being a child influencer."
Franke said that family vlogging is comparable to family businesses, but the difference between family vlogging and a family business, she said, are that all children are employees.
'Never, ever a good reason'
She said she's hopeful family vlogging will ultimately be banned.
"I want to be clear; there is never, ever a good reason for posting your children online for money or fame," Franke said. "There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger."
The family vlog became the main source of income for the Franke family. She said she was paid for her work, which helped in her adult life.
"However, this payment was usually a bribe," she said. "For example, we'd be awarded $100 or a shopping trip if we filmed a particularly embarrassing moment or an exciting event in our lives."
Franke said there is no law ensuring that the children of family vlogs are paid for their labor and exposure.
"If a family account does not become an LLC, parents are taxed heavily for paying their children," Franke told the committee. "But parents also receive tax write-offs for the clothes that they wear, the gas money used to drive places, and even the houses they live in. Anything that is filmed can be written off."
"How do we determine how much a child should make from appearing in online content? What price is worth giving up your childhood?" she asked the committee members.
'The camera never stops'
In her experience, starring in a family vlog was a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week role. Franke shared examples of times when she wanted to mourn privately, be with her friends, or go on dates, but had a camera ready to record every experience. She told the committee this caused her friends to become scarce, as they did not want to be filmed.
"The camera never stops, and there is no such thing as a break from filming," Shari Franke said.
Franke said that filming as a child has caused her to face consequences in her adult life.
"My social media became flooded with rumors of having sexual relations with my own brother, to being called a 'baby birthing machine' at 13," she told the committee. "All these things have stuck with me, and I will forever live between the ages of 13 to 17 in many of my viewers' minds."
Franke said some parents who run family-vlogging accounts are aware of pedophiles on the internet who look for this type of content. She said some of them choose to post their children anyway.
"I am not asking you to ban family vlogging, though that is my ultimate goal," Franke said. "I also understand that as Utahns, we don't appreciate big government overreach. But when it comes to protecting children, it should be a bipartisan issue."
The only people being harmed by child influencer laws, she said, are the parents exploiting their children. She said that as these children grow up, she foresees "legal crises," when kids realize the impact, both emotional and financial, this role caused them.
"Even 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," Franke said. "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've received has made what I experienced worth it."
