As a showcase for designer aprons with an invitation to engage in the creative process, Jillie Willie is all about colors and prints and creative opportunities. Not unlike many young designers or creators in California who are now establishing an online presence, there is much to be said for being creative and playful and open to the world of new experiences and opportunities. But a little bit more serious note must also be mentioned, and it’s important to not only sing the praises of creation, but also the quiet pursuit of a stable and secure living for the same creation. From the topic of enjoying pleasant creations to the downward motion of online harassment, there happens to be an intersection of sorts. If you are a Cali designer or creator, it is important to familiarize yourself with laws on cyberbullying in the golden state. There is a lot to unpack within the decision. For example, the term itself may seem a little obsolete to be appropriately used. To wit, the term “cyberbullying” as defined by the decision reads as follows: “A bully is a person whose aggressive, intentional behavior is intended to undermine or harm a more vulnerable person. Cyberbully is the term applied to a person who engages in this behavior using the Internet or other electronic means.” UCLA School of Law does a nice job at unpacking these laws in their article, California Cyberbullying Laws Explained. In California, there are many ways in which cyberbullying can take place. It might involve nasty emails exchanged by children through a cellphone, on the internet, or both. Or maybe a cyberbully will threaten you or your family members or your friends in certain ways? With certain text messages or messages posted or sent online, a cyberbully could try to impersonate you to your friends to get them to stop talking to you for example, make you look bad, get them to say things about you to make you look bad, and more. Although there are private and civil laws on harassment and stalking already in place before California’s passing of its online harassment law, it might seem that the state is perhaps trying to be covering all bases here. The goal of cyberbullying laws is to have safe online environments for creators is to make sure that bullying does not occur within the digital space and should not occur as well.
