Online Harm Groups Pose ‘Unprecedented Risk' to Teens, Says U.K. Crime Agency

New York Times

25-03-2025

Britain's National Crime Agency has warned of an 'unprecedented risk' to young people from online groups that encourage teenagers to share sadistic and misogynistic material and to coerce others into sexual abuse, self-harm or violence.
The agency, which is responsible for combating serious and organized crime in Britain, said Tuesday in an annual assessment of crime trends that reports of incidents related to the threat from online groups increased sixfold between 2022 and 2024 in Britain and warned of significant numbers of victims being groomed or blackmailed.
'Young people are being drawn into these sadistic and violent online gangs, where they are collaborating at scale to inflict, or incite others to commit, serious harm,' said Graeme Biggar, director general of the agency, in a statement.
He added, 'These groups are not lurking on the dark web, they exist in the same online world and platforms young people use on a daily basis,' and noted that young girls were being 'groomed into hurting themselves and in some cases, even encouraged to attempt suicide.'
The agency's National Strategic Assessment for 2024 said that while adults were involved in these communities or networks, it was especially concerned about teenage boys often sharing sadistic and misogynistic material and targeting girls as young as 11.
Described as 'Com' networks, the forums have become vehicles for sharing images of extreme violence, gore and child sexual abuse. They are also used to apply 'extreme coercion' to manipulate young people into harming or abusing themselves, their siblings or pets, the agency said.
'Members of 'Com' networks are usually young men who are motivated by status, power, control, misogyny, sexual gratification, or an obsession with extreme or violent material,' said the report, which added that the emergence of these types of online groups 'are almost certainly causing some individuals, especially younger people, to develop a dangerous propensity for extreme violence.'
It added that the networks typically attract young males promoting nihilistic views, who 'attempt to gain status with other users by committing or encouraging harmful acts across a broad spectrum of offending.'
Users in Britain and other western countries 'had exchanged millions of messages online relating to sexual and physical abuse,' it noted.
The crime agency gave the example of Cameron Finnigan, a British teenager who was sentenced to jail in January after being part of an online Satanist group that blackmails other children into filming or livestreaming self-harm, violence and sexual abuse. Mr. Finnigan, 19, used the Telegram app to encourage contacts to commit murder and suicide.
In his statement, Mr. Biggar said that police were collaborating with technology companies and psychologists to better understand the behavior of young people but added that he encouraged parents 'to have regular conversations with their child about what they do online.'
Jess Phillips, a government minister who has responsibility for tackling violence against women and girls, described the scale of abuse outlined in the report as 'absolutely horrific,' and also urged open conversations within families.
'My message to tech companies is simple: This is your responsibility, too,' she added. 'You must ensure your platforms are safe for children, so that we can protect the most vulnerable and put predators behind bars.'
The agency's latest survey focused heavily on the use of technology and online platforms in crimes including fraud, extremism and sexual abuse.
Citing statistics from the Internet Watch Foundation, a nonprofit organization, it said that 291,273 web pages had contained indecent images of children in 2024, a 6 percent increase since 2023. Of these, 91 percent were classified as self-generated indecent imagery, either shared consensually, or elicited through manipulation.