The Legislature has approved 'David's Law' and the Governor has signed it, and now its our turn to make it work, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
David's Legacy Foundation and iHeartMedia Austin and San Antonio have begun a campaign to urge teenagers to 'take the pledge,' the 'David's Law Anti-Cyberbulling Pledge' and be strong against using their digital devices as weapons.
David's Legacy Foundation was started by the Molak Family to bring awareness to the problem of on line bullying. Their son, David Molak, killed himself in January of 2016 after being the victim of relentless social media bullying, and the tragedy prompted a major effort to bring awareness to the problem and to stop cyber bullying.
David's law allows school districts more leeway to crack down on on-line bullying, allows law enforcement to obtain the information to allow them to identify computers where bullying content originates, and allows the cyber bully to sue in civil court the bully and his or her family.
To visually represent their commitment to never cyberbully, supporters will place David's Law Pledge Stickers on cell phones, computers, and other communication devices to serve as a statement and reminder that the device will never be used as a weapon.
The sticker features a text bubble which contains the three red dots of an ellipsis, an indication of a text, and the opportunity for the recipient to make the decision whether to respond with harmful bullying, or to be strong and 'rise above destructive on line behavior.'
“The David’s Law Pledge is an exciting new initiative for David’s Legacy Foundation,” said Matt Molak, David Molak’s father and co-founder of David’s Legacy Foundation. “Now that David’s Law is in place to protect children from cyber-assisted bullying, we are fully focused on reaching today's kids in a tangible and relatable way."
iHeart Media will use its on air and social media resources to distribute the stickers, which will also be distributed at iHeart Media concerts and other appearences
.“The David Molak story and the passage of David’s Law in Texas inspired our local teams to get involved by leveraging our radio, digital, social platforms and event teams to join in the efforts to end cyberbullying,” said Matt Martin, President for iHeartMedia Austin and iHeartMedia San Antonio. “We are honored to partner with David’s Legacy Foundation to help spread the message among students and their families that is never OK to bully or to use electronic devices to cyberbully.”
This initiative is part of a collaborative effort among industry partners including Left Right Media, the DeBerry Group and Tradecraft to further the David’s Legacy Foundation message and end cyberbullying for Texas teens.