Illinois Just Made Digital Replicas Cyberbullying. Your Reputation Is a Curriculum Now.

Education Intelligence

There was a time when a young person could make a bad decision, somebody could correct it, and eventually the moment might disappear.

Technology changed that.

Now a photograph can travel before a student gets home from school.

A fake account can be created in minutes.

A person's voice can be imitated.

An image or video can be manipulated so convincingly that somebody who was never there can appear to have said or done something they never said or did.

And beginning with the 2026–27 school year, Illinois' School Code specifically includes the electronic posting or distribution of an unauthorized digital replica within its definition of cyberbullying when that conduct also produces the effects required under the state's bullying definition. In other words, the law does not classify every digital replica as bullying automatically; the surrounding conduct and effects still matter.

That distinction matters legally.

But as an educator and mentor, I am interested in an even bigger conversation:

What are we teaching young people about the responsibility that comes with having the power to manipulate somebody else's identity?

It Was “Just a Joke” Until It Was Somebody's Name

Young people have always teased each other.

Technology did not invent cruelty.

But technology changed the scale.

A joke that once stayed between a few people can now become a piece of content.

And content travels.

Illinois law defines a digital replica as a highly realistic electronic representation of an actual person created through technology—including AI—in a sound recording or audiovisual work in which that person did not actually perform or appear.

That means we are no longer only teaching young people:

Do not post an embarrassing picture of somebody.

Now we also have to discuss:

Do not manufacture the picture.

Do not create a fake video and present it as real.

Do not imitate someone's voice to embarrass them.

Do not use technology to put another person's identity into a situation they never entered.

And before you press send, ask yourself whether five minutes of laughter is worth damaging somebody else's name.

Reputation Has Become Part of Digital Literacy

I talk about branding often.

But branding is not only a business conversation.

A young person's reputation is being formed long before they open a company.

The digital world means their name, image, words, and actions can become part of a permanent record faster than any generation before them experienced.

That is why I believe digital literacy has to include reputation literacy.

What happens when you repost something you know is false?

What happens when you create content using somebody else's face?

What happens when you participate in humiliating somebody because everybody else is laughing?

And what happens when the person being targeted is you?

Students need practical answers before the situation happens—not only discipline afterward.

Mentorship Has to Go Beyond “Put the Phone Down”

Adults sometimes respond to technology problems by telling young people to use their phones less.

That is not enough.

Technology is part of their world.

Our responsibility is to teach them how to live responsibly inside that world.

A mentor can ask:

Would you be comfortable putting your name on this post?

How would you feel if somebody created this about you?

Do you know whether this image is real?

What should you do if someone sends you a fake image or video of another student?

Who is the trusted adult you would contact if somebody created one of you?

Those conversations build judgment before a crisis requires it.

Schools Need Education Alongside Policy

Illinois schools already must maintain bullying-prevention policies, reporting procedures, and processes for investigating bullying. The updated law adds qualifying unauthorized digital replicas to that existing framework beginning with the 2026–27 school year.

Policies matter.

But policy by itself does not teach character.

Students also need examples.

Case studies.

Conversations.

Digital citizenship.

Media literacy.

Opportunities to practice identifying manipulated content.

And spaces where they can ask difficult questions without adults pretending technology is simpler than it actually is.

Schools should not wait until a digital-replica incident happens to explain the consequences.

Business Has a Role Here Too

Employers are dealing with many of these same questions.

What happens when somebody creates a fake statement from a company executive?

What happens when an employee shares manipulated content?

How do businesses protect their brands and the identities of the people who work for them?

That makes this a career-readiness issue too.

Students should understand that digital judgment follows them beyond school.

The habits they develop now will enter college, employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and public life with them.

Your Journal Work

Talk with a young person about reputation this week.

Ask:

What would you do if someone created a fake video of you?

What responsibility do you have when someone sends you manipulated content about another person?

How can you tell when something online might not be real?

What does your current digital footprint teach people about your character?

Then ask the harder question:

What kind of person do you want your name to represent when you are not there to defend it?

That takes us right back to one of my favorite lessons about branding:

Your name matters.

Your reputation matters.

And now, protecting somebody else's name has become part of learning how to live responsibly in a digital world.

Technology will continue changing.

Young people will encounter tools we have not even imagined yet.

We cannot prepare them for every platform.

But we can prepare them with principles.

Verify before you share.

Think before you create.

Ask before you use somebody else's identity.

Understand that the person on the other side of the screen is still a person.

And remember:

Just because technology gives you the ability to create something does not mean wisdom gives you permission to do it.

"A rumor used to require a person willing to repeat it. Now it just requires an app."