Editorial explainer — prepared by the Crime Watch Canada editorial desk. If a child is in immediate danger call 9-1-1; to report online exploitation of a child, use Cybertip.ca, operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
What the risks actually are
- Luring. Section 172.1 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to communicate online with a person under 18 (or under 16, depending on the offence) for the purpose of facilitating a sexual offence. Offenders pose as peers, build trust over weeks, and move the conversation to private apps.
- Sextortion. A young person is persuaded to send an intimate image, then threatened with its release unless money or more images follow. Cybertip.ca reports it as one of the fastest-growing forms of online exploitation, with teenage boys increasingly targeted by financially motivated offenders.
- Sharing intimate images. Distributing an intimate image of anyone without consent is an offence (s. 162.1); when the subject is under 18 it is child pornography, even when a teen shares an image of a classmate.
- Cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content and oversharing — location tags, school names and routines that make a child easy to find offline.
What works
- Know the apps. Have the accounts your child uses and understand the direct-message and disappearing-media features on each.
- Set privacy defaults together. Private accounts, friends-only messaging, location off, and no real name, school or age in a profile.
- Talk about “the ask”. Agree that any request for a photo, a secret, a video call in private, or to move to another app is the moment to stop and tell an adult — and that they will not be in trouble for telling.
- Don’t delete evidence. If something has happened, keep the account, screenshots and usernames. Do not pay. Report to police and to Cybertip.ca, which can also help get images taken down.
Who to contact
Cybertip.ca — Canada’s tipline for reporting online child sexual exploitation, run by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. Kids Help Phone — 1-800-668-6868, 24 hours. Local police — for anything involving a known suspect or an ongoing threat. Our Safety Resources page lists further contacts by topic.
