Police warn about social media app being used by potential predators to exploit children

A stock image of a child on a tablet. (Ron Lach, Pexels)

Police are issuing a warning to parents about a social media app based out of Singapore, called Likee, that predators could use to exploit children. The warning comes after South Simcoe police say a local parent reported earlier this month their child had been involved in recording and sharing explicit material of herself after an unknown individual contacted her online through the app.

According to police, the young girl had communicated with the suspect through Likee and was coerced to record herself engaging in sexual activity.

Police say the situation then escalated.

"Once the unknown individual received several videos, a demand was made for more videos to be sent. The unknown individual threatened the young person and told them that if they did not comply with the request for additional videos to be sent, the videos of the young person engaging in sexual activity would be sent to family, friends, and the school that they attend," the police service stated.

Police say Likee has about 100 million users globally and doesn’t allow private accounts or require a certain age to utilize. Additionally, the authorities say the organization or parent company of the app will not comply with Canadian court orders “which drastically reduces the likelihood of investigations being successful.”

Tips for Safety

Police advise using a family share plan for cell services, which allows parents to set up a notification system that alerts them to any application downloads and gives parents the ability to accept or deny the request.

Parents are encouraged to monitor all activity and content on their child’s devices to ensure online safety, and to disable home-based WiFi during hours, like overnight, to ensure children are not online at a time when adult supervision isn’t available.

"Have frank and open discussions with children about online safety and the importance of not communicating with unknown individuals," police add.

Finally, police urge parents and guardians to report any concerns or issues to the authorities immediately to avoid potential evidence being lost.