There was no suggestion in the hearing that the top-earning influencers were being exploited.

During the hearing, MPs questioned how long children behind successful social media channels spent making videos for their parents and whether they were vulnerable to “exploitation”.

Kidfluencers not covered by current child protection laws

Ed Magee, the chairman of the National Network for Children in Employment and Entertainment, which regulates child entertainers, warned that kidfluencers were not covered by the current laws.

He said: “There are some children who have a very big social media following and it is effectively their full-time job. 

Mr Magee added: “I think there may be pressure put on children to take part in that activity particularly when there is a financial element that goes along with it.”

The UK’s child labour laws, which date back to 1933, set strict limits on how long children can work – no more than two hours on a school day and not before 7am or after 7pm.

Mr Magee said the laws should be updated so that parents would come under them if they make more than £500 a week from their child’s social media.

Other experts also warned that social media companies’ monetisation models, where people are paid by view, encouraged parents to perform reckless stunts with their children to attract big audiences.

One such phenomenon is copying Korean “mukbang” videos, where people record themselves binging on junk food. 

Catalina Goanta, a law professor at the Maastricht University in the Netherlands, said: “There is a family here that thinks it is a good idea to simply feed children loads of fast food for views. 

“Why is that? Because the AdSense system for instance on YouTube is going to make it possible that the more views you get the more you can monetise that content.”