Close X
Thursday, January 9, 2025
ADVT 
National

Social media firms can't be let 'off the hook' for deadly sextortion of kids: Eby

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Feb, 2024 04:56 PM
  • Social media firms can't be let 'off the hook' for deadly sextortion of kids: Eby

Premier David Eby says social media companies can't be let "off the hook" after two B.C. teens died by suicide shortly after falling victim to online sextortion scams.

Eby's comments came one day after Surrey RCMP announced a man in Nigeria has been arrested and charged in one of those cases following a lengthy international investigation.

Police did not confirm the boy's name, but said his "sudden" death last February led to the discovery he had been a victim of "financial sextortion."

Mounties told reporters the online interaction between the boy and the suspect lasted only minutes.

Eby told an unrelated news conference that the province intends to hold technology companies accountable, but that will take time, so it's working to educate parents and children to protect themselves against sextortion schemes.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which says it receives 70 reports of sextortion to its tip line each week, has also been calling for accountability from the technology industry, saying in a news release last week that it has failed to protect citizens from online harms. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Lawyer for pharma company argues against single trial in B.C. opioid damages case

Lawyer for pharma company argues against single trial in B.C. opioid damages case
A lawyer for a pharmaceutical firm says holding a single trial in British Columbia to determine damages for each province and territory related to opioid health-care costs would be a "monster of complexity." Gordon McKee, a lawyer for Janssen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, told the B.C. Supreme Court that certifying Canadian governments as a class in their pursuit of damages against opioid makers isn't manageable or preferable compared with separate trials.   

Lawyer for pharma company argues against single trial in B.C. opioid damages case

BC needs to be winter ready

BC needs to be winter ready
The summit never happened and now Linda Annis and Daniel Fontaine want to know whether the province and Metro Vancouver have any solutions. They say if a summit had been held, a regional plan might be in place this year to avoid future problems. 

BC needs to be winter ready

Auditor general raises concerns about B.C.’s bookkeeping for 16th time

Auditor general raises concerns about B.C.’s bookkeeping for 16th time
Michael Pickup says if B.C's financial statements followed Canadian public sector accounting standards there would be about another $7 billion in the revenue column, and liabilities would have dropped by the same amount. This is the 16th time Pickup's office has "qualified" its audit report, meaning it couldn't say the financial statements were fairly presented.

Auditor general raises concerns about B.C.’s bookkeeping for 16th time

Charges laid in shooting deaths of two Edmonton officers while on duty: police

Charges laid in shooting deaths of two Edmonton officers while on duty: police
Charges have been laid in the deaths of two Edmonton police officers who were shot while responding to a call in March. Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan took a call about a family dispute at an apartment building when they were gunned down by a 16-year-old boy. 

Charges laid in shooting deaths of two Edmonton officers while on duty: police

CP investigation into allegations of toxic workplace at CSIS

CP investigation into allegations of toxic workplace at CSIS
The investigation, by reporter Darryl Greer, includes interviews with two covert officers who say they were sexually assaulted by a senior colleague while on duty, and two other officers who support their claims. The story provides a rare look inside Canada's spy agency.

CP investigation into allegations of toxic workplace at CSIS

El Niño brings a warm start to winter, but that could change: Weather Network

El Niño brings a warm start to winter, but that could change: Weather Network
The Weather Network predicts El Niño conditions will lead to above-average temperatures and lower-than-normal precipitation levels in much of the country, particularly in Western and Central Canada. While that trend is expected to hold throughout the winter in British Columbia and the Prairie provinces, the network said areas further east may see more variable conditions as the season progresses.

El Niño brings a warm start to winter, but that could change: Weather Network