ALERT: TikTok Content Trojan (V. Distressing)

Some time in recent weeks a tragic event unfolded in one place that happens in many private locations around the world. A young person took their own life in violent and tragic way. Aside from the incredible grief and devastating hole that this leaves behind in so many peoples lives, there was a nasty side story … the event was live streamed.

This content has now been downloaded by some people who are sharing it across other social media platforms. To make it even more outrageous, the motivated person is embedding this horrific content in a video that has bookended cute kittens and puppies. The event havs also been widely reported on in the press (ABC News is a free news service)

The social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Google, Twitter and others are all racing to remove all instances of this, however this will take time. Until then, it is our strong recommendation that you disable social media on your children’s devices, or at the very least reduce it and have the time supervised for the next week or so.

You should also have a conversation about distressing content and how to react to it:

• Talk to a trusted adult (teacher, parent, counsellor)
• Report the content (in the platform, report the link to law enforcement)

And please always remember – if you or someone is distressed, then please call any of these services (Australia):

• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
• MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• Headspace on 1800 650 890
• ReachOut at au.reachout.com
• Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) on 1800 008 774

Privacy 2: How do I protect my privacy?

As promised, here is the second article in the series on privacy.

We previously talked about why companies chose to know so much about us. We also talked very briefly about how to go about protecting your privacy online. This week, we will dig a bit deeper into what actual things you need to do to protect your privacy. here are some simple things that every web site tells you to do…