Online groups luring young, vulnerable people into violence for its own sake, summit to hear

There will be a two-day summit on online child safety being hosted by Meta in Dublin on Tuesday and Wednesday

'There are a massive number of online platforms and digital services which our young people use to communicate with their friends to act out their lives in normal ways but it is on these same platforms that there is a risk of coercion, recruitment, even radicalisation.' File photo

Young, vulnerable people are being lured by online nihilistic violence groups to carry out extremist and illegal activities, according to a researcher focused on extremism and online hate.

Ciaran O’Connor, senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, will discuss the growth of nihilistic networks such as The Com and 764 during a two-day summit on online child safety being hosted by Meta in Dublin on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Pathways to Safer Systems summit has been organised by INHOPE, the international network of internet hotlines seeking to tackle online child sexual abuse material.

INHOPE says this year’s summit will “explore how we move beyond understanding online child sexual abuse to building the co-ordinated systems needed to prevent it”.

Among the topics for discussion during the two-day event will be new research in the area, and a focus on the psychological, technological, financial, and regulatory dimensions of online harm. The use of artificial intelligence in child sexual abuse material will be examined.

Mr O’Connor told the Irish Examiner: “We are seeing increasing signs of these online networks seemingly beginning to have an impact on communities of young people in this country. The online world that adults inhabit is wildly different to that which teenagers inhabit.

“There are a massive number of online platforms and digital services which our young people use to communicate with their friends to act out their lives in normal ways but it is on these same platforms that there is a risk of coercion, recruitment, even radicalisation.” 

Nihilistic violent networks

Earlier this year, gardaí took part in an EU operation targeting nihilistic violent extremist content online, specifically The Com network. The operation was spearheaded by Europol. 

More than 4,300 web addresses were linked to The Com network during the operation. These addresses were found in nine member states, including Ireland.

Mr O’Connor said such networks typically target people who have mental health difficulties, family issues or other vulnerabilities. 

“Isolation, mental health difficulties, even issues at home for young people with parents or absent parents are all seen as deliberate filters through which victims can be selected. 

“Nihilistic extremist violence refers to acts that are not driven by ideologically-coherent goals so it’s not white nationalism, it’s not some kind of Islamist belief system but it is more so about the fascination and promotion of violence in and of itself.” 

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He said a growing number of organisations working with young people here are becoming aware of networks including The Com and 764, which he sees as an indicator of “how this is becoming a significant concern for all kinds of traditional youth groups, educator settings and frontline groups for young people”.

“It is quite striking for someone like myself who researches what can be quite niche and fringe online movements, particularly in the Irish context, that a number of civil society groups who deal with young people are already speaking about 764 and Com.” 

This week’s summit comes as the European Commission has opened a consultation process on the EU Kids Act until November 26.

The legislation was published by the commission last month and seeks to restrict social media access for under 15s across the European Union’s member states. Under the act, children must be 15 years old before being able to open their own account on social media.