Ontario child coerced on social media into making sexually explicit content: police

South Simcoe Police are warning the public about a popular social media app after a young child was coerced into filming and sending sexually explicit content to a stranger.

Earlier this month, police received a complaint from a concerned parent about their child using a social media application known as Likee.

Likee is a free, short-form video creation and sharing app that allows users to livestream.

The app has around 100 million users worldwide and is available for iOS and Android devices.

South Simcoe Police say they learned that a young girl had communicated with an unknown individual through the Likee application.

Police say an unknown individual convinced the young person to record themselves engaging in sexual activity and send the videos to them.

Once the individual received several videos, police say they demanded more, threatening to send videos of the young person’s sexual activity to family, friends, and their school if they didn’t comply.

Police warn that Likee is based out of Singapore, and the organization and parent company will not comply with or take action on Canadian court orders, which drastically reduces the likelihood of perpetrators being caught.

Unlike other social media apps, police warn that Likee does not allow a user to mark their account as private, so anyone can view content posted by a user at any time. Having a profile is not required to access and browse content on the app.

Police warn that people also do not need to enter their date of birth before browsing content.

The South Simcoe Police Service are using the experience as an opportunity to warn parents and children about the potential risks associated with social media applications that do not offer adequate privacy settings or data protection.

Here is what police say people can do:

• If families share a family plan for cellphone services, a parent can set up a notification system that will alert
  them if their child is trying to download an application. Once the notification is received, only a parent can
  review and approve the request.
• Access to home-based Wi-Fi can be limited to certain times of the day by the users. For example, Wi-Fi can
  be disabled during the overnight hours to ensure that children are not online at a time when adult supervision would not be available.
• Ensure that a child meets the suggested age requirements for social media applications.
• Parents should retain the passwords for social media accounts used by their children and, if necessary, check the nature of the content that is being posted or viewed by their children.
• Have frank and open discussions with children about online safety and the importance of not communicating with unknown individuals.
• If there are issues that should be reported to the police, ensure that they are reported promptly to avoid
  evidence being lost.

Additional information and tips for online safety can be found at cybertip.ca.