San Diego Law Review
Document Type
Comment
Abstract
Reality television brings to mind staged conflicts, mindless entertainment, and fame-hungry casts. However, beneath all this editing lies a unique and nontraditional employment structure whereby stars sacrifice everything to star on a show in the hopes of earning the coveted status of “celebrity” or “influencer.” But the rules to play are one-sided. Overly broad nondisclosure agreements restrict what stars can say and when, extending beyond the protectable bounds of storylines and trade secrets. This Comment argues that these overly broad nondisclosure agreements function as de facto noncompetes that directly and indirectly limit stars’ abilities to compete within the labor market and earn money as influencers. The State of California prohibits noncompete agreements in employment, making these mislabeled provisions unlawful in California.
Importantly, the influencer earning model is becoming an established structure within the American labor market. While the reality television industry provides an intelligible case study to explore de facto noncompetes, this phenomenon likely affects a much larger class of nontraditional workers and demands immediate attention. To curb this unlawful practice, this Comment proposes adopting laws to limit what information employers can legally cover with nondisclosure agreements. This Comment builds on earlier frameworks that conceptualize broad nondisclosure agreements as de facto noncompetes and contributes to the substantial stream of literature that challenges how Americans view “work” and what it means to earn a living at a time of widening inequality and uncertainty.
Recommended Citation
Hannah K. Bollinger,
Super Secret or Super Illegal?: When NDAs Function as Unlawful Noncompetes, a Case Study of the Reality Television Industry,
63
San Diego L. Rev.
387
(2026).
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol63/iss2/6