In the petition, which has been published on the website change.org and which comes in the wake of Liam Payne's death, the initiators are demanding that the music industry and entertainment industry be held accountable for the well-being of artists.
"We want legislation to be introduced to protect artists' mental health, and for regular checks to be carried out on their mental well-being, for them to have proper rest periods and for there to be direct access to professional help", they write on the website, concluding with the hashtag #liamslaw.
Following Payne's death, a number of artists have spoken out about the intense pressure involved in working in the music industry, a pressure that can be particularly dangerous for young exploited artists.
Liam Payne was 14 when he broke through as part of the British pop sensation One Direction, and he has previously spoken about his struggles with addiction and poor mental health.
The 31-year-old Payne died on Wednesday evening after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital. The preliminary toxicology report shows that he had drugs in his body when he died.
