“Safe Spaces” PSA sends heartbreaking message about online child sexual abuse

News of Instagram’s recently introduced Teen Accounts is like “announcing they put a fresh coat of paint on their walls while the house is on fire,” according to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P).

Rather than leave social media altogether, C3P’s new campaign, “Safe Spaces,” is urging parents to support the Canadian federal government’s Online Harms Bill, which would require social media companies to provide meaningful protection to children online.

“The real issue is that we have companies introducing half-measures, trying to dictate safety standards for children that don’t chip away at their dangerous business models,” Lianna McDonald, executive director of C3P, tells strategy. “The reality is that governments should be the ones establishing what business practices and standards are truly safe for kids, and then the industry must adopt them. That is why online safety laws are so urgently needed in Canada.”

“Safe Spaces” features six Canadian moms coming together to share the stories of their children’s online sexual victimization. The film demonstrates that because cyber predators are everywhere, nowhere is safe for children when they’re online. Not their school, playground – not even their own bedroom.

“These stories are heartbreaking, but they are not unique,” McDonald says, adding that Cybertip.ca – a Canadian tipline for reporting online child sexual abuse – saw a 27% increase in reports compared to the year before. “Canadians need to know that children are experiencing real harms because, unlike offline, where governments have rules and regulations for products, companies and spaces that serve children, this simply does not exist online.”

In addition to the two-minute film, the organization is also running OOH ads, with No Fixed Address handling the creative for the campaign.