Mr. Declan Daly:

In the case of apps such as Snapchat's Snap Map and so on, awareness is very important. At the time it came out there was a flurry of activity and we were involved in education about it. Webwise has very good advice on the app on its website. We also gave advice on it on our own website. I do not know why children want to have all these friends. They want to have online friends. It is a problem for us. Children might have 1,000 friends. They do not know 1,000 people. They let their guard down online and, because their guard is down, potential offenders or paedophiles will enter that space to try to exploit them. The whole idea is to educate them that they should limit access to their friends. All those apps allow for certain controls. For Snapchat and Snap Map, an account can be closed off so that it is only visible to oneself and one's close friends. It also has a setting for more open visibility.

Really it is a matter of education for parents. When they are downloading the app and having that conversation with their child, they should be giving that education. For example, it now seems to be common for children to get a phone around the time of their confirmation. I wonder how many of the phones given out during the confirmation period come with a discussion or advice from the parent or somebody else. We would certainly advise that. No child should get a phone without some accompanying advice. The parent does not have to have a huge knowledge of the Internet. Our parents have always told us that we should not talk to strangers. That goes online as well. If one takes the scenario of parents in their living room looking outside and seeing their child talking to a stranger, they would challenge the person or talk to the child. It is exactly the same online. The message is do not talk to strangers.