Columnist image
Jon Erlichman

Anchor

|Archive

Waterloo, Ont.-based startup KidsWifi sees a business opportunity in making Internet searches safer for children. To help spread the word, it has teamed up with family members from one of the Internet's best known names: Justin Bieber.

“I have three kids at home,” Jeremy Bieber, Justin’s father, told BNN in a television interview, in reference to his other children. “KidsWifi protects them. And that’s important to us.”

KidsWifi was developed by the founders of Fibernetics, a telecommunications company based in the Waterloo region. While software has long been used to limit Internet access for children, the startup opted for a Wi-Fi solution. 

“The device basically looks like a nightlight. You plug it into any outlet," KidsWifi Co-Founder Mike Brown told BNN in the same interview.

KidsWifi uses your home Internet connection to create a new Wi-Fi network. "Devices can hook on to it. And once your kids are on the network, they can surf protected," said Brown. 

Justin Bieber's younger sister, Jazmyn, is serving as the company’s “Kid Ambassador.”

“I've known these guys for a while," Jeremy said, in reference to the Fibernetics founders. "Obviously Jazmyn is involved. And it protects our kids."

The idea for KidsWifi came after an Internet search for halloween costumes by a friend's child yielded unwanted results. "KidsWifi was created to block that kind of content," said Co-Founder Mike Brown.

In Canada, 53 per cent of children aged eleven or younger are on the Internet, according to research firm eMarketer. That number is expected to reach 55 per cent within two years. 

“For me, growing up, you had to go to the library to get some of this information,” Jeremy told BNN. “Now, it’s at your fingertips and virtually any kid can have access to it. This just protects them from that.”

Justin Bieber also lent his support, recently tweeting about KidsWifi. The pop star has been vocal about hateful commentary on social media and made headlines in August after deleting his Instagram account. This week, Instagram said it would allow users to limit comments on their posts, saying in a blog the changes were made to "keep people safe."

KidsWifi is currently being distributed in Canada online and through the Showcase retail chain. The company is in talks to launch in more retail locations in 2017.

"We want to take the product global," said Co-Founder Mike Brown. "And we've got the plug inserts that can help access wireless networks globally.