Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s Haunting PSA Brings Every Parent’s Fear to Life

With the rise of predators targeting children through social platforms, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) has issued ‘The Horse,’ a PSA warning parents about the unfettered access that smart devices can provide to their kids. As part of C3P’s mission to protect children online from sexual violence, the warning calls for governments around the globe to enact legislative change.

The Horse is a powerful wake-up call, shedding light on the dark and pervasive threats that can harm children through their digital devices, and these threats continue to grow. Over the past five years, reports of online sexual luring of children to Cybertip.ca, Canada's national tip line for reporting online child sexual violence, have increased by 815%.²

“We’re handing kids technology that is being weaponised against them by predators, and there are no laws in place to keep them safe the same way we protect kids offline,” says Lianna McDonald, executive director of C3P. “We need all Canadians – especially parents – calling on the government to regulate the platforms that are letting offenders right into our children’s bedrooms.” 

The entire 60-second spot is filmed in one continuous shot down a hallway, set in a home that could be yours or mine. The world built by acclaimed and award-winning Canadian director Meredith Hama-Brown is warm and loving, with a deeply unsettling undertone – a reminder that phones have opened everyone’s door to online dangers. Brown recently was awarded the Fipresci Prize at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for her film Seagrass and overall film craftsmanship.

“We set out to capture the scenario that keeps every parent up at night,” says Alexis Bronstorph, chief creative officer at No Fixed Address. “And The Horse is a chilling reminder that it’s real and it’s happening.” 

With the release of The Horse, C3P kicks off a campaign to mobilise parents to demand legislative change by educating them on the true dangers lurking in their children's phones. Poignant media placements in movie theatres, major dailies and online platforms drive parents to take a short survey and get governments across the world to step up and act now. The initiative is backed by several of C3P’s global partners including 5Rights Foundation, Fairplay, ECPAT Sweden, Suojellaan Lapsi, Innocence in Danger Germany and The Marie Collins Foundation.

Concerned citizens are encouraged to spread the awareness by viewing and sharing the PSA here, and make a difference by taking a short survey on what they think should be done to protect children online.

1) WeProtect. (2021). Estimates of childhood exposure to online sexual harms and their risk factors: A global study of childhood experiences of 18 to 20 year olds

2) Canadian Centre for Child Protection. (2022). Reports of online sexual luring of Canadian kids up 815% in five years, Cybertip.ca data shows.