Latest news with #764
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Temitope Oriola: Fighting violent online network preying on kids requires all-of-society approach
The RCMP announced on Thursday the terrorism-related arrest of a 15-year old Alberta boy. He is being charged under Section 810.011 of the Criminal Code — Fear of terrorism offence. This section of the Criminal Code states that 'A person who fears on reasonable grounds that another person may commit a terrorism offence may, with the attorney general's consent, lay an information before a provincial court judge.' This suggests that the RCMP had reason to believe the boy might carry out an act of terrorism. The boy allegedly belongs to '764', a loose, nodal, rhizomatic, supranational network of online violent entities. The RCMP news release describes 764 network as 'a transnational online ecosystem of violent online predators who routinely lure youth, particularly those in vulnerable sectors, and encourage them to commit sexual acts, self-harm, and the torture of animals. Elements of The Com/764 network are known to have extreme ideological views and are victimizing children through desensitizing and radicalizing them to violence.' This is indeed a national security concern and global problem. In March 2025, the FBI issued a warning regarding 'a sharp increase in the activity of 764 and other violent online networks which operate within the United States and around the globe.' The statement notes that the networks 'methodically target and exploit minors and other vulnerable individuals.' Crimes like rape, murder, child pornography, sextortion, kidnapping, et cetera, have been linked to the network around the world. There have been arrests, charges and/or convictions of its members in Brazil, the U.K., Spain, U.S., Romania, Sweden, and Australia, among others. 764 is believed to have been founded by a Texas teenager, Bradley Cadenhead, in 2021. It has multiple sub-entities. One of the more telling is 'No Lives Matter.' The nihilism — ostensible meaninglessness of life — presupposed by the network is evident in the name. The network encourages members to engage in and livestream self-harm and suicide. This is a quintessentially vile 21st century network. Its activities have been catalyzed by the relative anonymity and instantaneity of the Internet and social media platforms. While we are right to focus on the Facebooks of this world, others like Discord, Twitch and Telegram are being deployed by 764. In September 2022, while appearing before the Standing Committee on Human Rights for the Senate, I stated the need to focus on all forms of terrorism. Jihadi terrorism had been the epicentre of national security concerns with relatively scant attention to 'homegrown' terrorism. That gave an inadvertent latitude to the incel network, for example, to carry out attacks they had been discussing online for weeks without seemingly being interrogated. It contributed to tragedies such as the van attack by Alek Minassian in Toronto in 2018. Words have meanings. It appears we are entering a new era of co-locating and cross-fertilizing people's online and offline words and actions. We learned the hard way. The arrest of the 15-year-old may be viewed as a lesson from the Incel rebellion. The RCMP deserves commendation for moving swiftly before any apparent damage could be done. Dealing with transnational actors like the 764 network requires an all-of-society approach. The significance of the role of social media companies cannot be overstated: what content they allow on their platforms, minimum requirements of registration (if any), and surveillance of suspicious words and images. It is also crucial to strengthen legislation regulating social media organizations. Nonetheless, there is no substitute to parental responsibility. Parents must be vigilant about the online activities of their children. It may be cool at first that a child almost always remains in their room but being camped in the basement for days and weeks on end meeting with online friends should elicit parental curiosity. Social engagement of young people is important. Such online groups prey on social isolation, alienation and boredom of young people. We need to provide opportunities for sports, volunteering and other avenues to bond with non-criminal peers. Such activities may also contribute to building the confidence of our young people. Mental health support is fundamental given the self-harm and suicidal ideation that are integral to the imprimatur of 764. I strongly recommend the RCMP resource page on what signs parents can observe to prevent entanglement of children in violent online networks. Temitope Oriola is professor of criminology and recipient of the J. Gordin Kaplan Award, the University of Alberta's most prestigious honour for research excellence. 'X': @topeoriola We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don't publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal |The Edmonton Sun.
CBC
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Alberta teen arrested for terrorism-related offence
RCMP arrested a 15-year-old, who was allegedly involved in a global online network, 764, that preys on children.
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Edmonton youth, 15, arrested by Alberta INSET for terrorism-related offence
A 15-year-old youth from Edmonton was arrested by the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) May 12 for a terrorism offence after an investigation linked to a violent online network that targets vulnerable children, say RCMP. Article content Article content The youth has been remanded into custody 'by way of a terrorism peace bond pursuant to section 810.011 of the Criminal Code – fear of terrorism offence,' said a Thursday RCMP news release from RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region. Article content Article content RCMP say the 764 network is a transnational online ecosystem of violent online predators who continuously lure youth, particularly targeting youths in vulnerable sectors and encourage them to commit sexual acts, self-harm and torture of animals. Article content The network is known to have extreme ideological views and victimize children by radicalizing and desensitizing them to various forms of violence. Article content RCMP said with networks like 764, which target vulnerable youth online, education is their first line of defence in hopes that young people will recognize the signs of manipulation and extremism, and make the internet a safer place. Article content The youth is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing in Edmonton on June 3. Article content This is the second set of terrorism charges by INSET in Edmonton over the last 15 months. In March 2024, terrorism charges were laid in the case of an Edmonton security guard accused of firing a rifle and lobbing firebombs inside city hall two months prior. Article content Article content INSET charged the accused, Bezhani Sarvar, with 11 offences including counselling commission of terrorism offence and possession of property for terrorist purposes, while Edmonton police charged Sarvar with six offences. Article content Article content INSET teams were created to track and prevent criminal activities of terrorist groups or individuals who pose a threat to Canada's national security, according to Public Safety Canada. INSET in Alberta includes employees of the RCMP, Edmonton Police Service, Calgary Police Service, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Article content
Global News
4 days ago
- Global News
RCMP arrest Alberta teen allegedly connected to ‘violent' online network
RCMP have arrested an Alberta teen who investigators feared would commit terrorism offences. Mounties allege the 15-year-old from the Edmonton area was planning to commit offences related to the COM/764 network, an online gaming platform that allows users to create their own virtual universe and has developed a large fan following. Experts say the predators first gain the youth's trust, then exploit them. 'The 764 network is a transnational online ecosystem of violent online predators who routinely lure youth, particularly those in vulnerable sectors, and encourage them to commit sexual acts, self-harm, and the torture of animals,' RCMP said in a news release Thursday. View image in full screen Investigators allege the teen was radicalized by predators using the online gaming network COM/764. File Photo 'Online predators are exploiting youth on the platforms that youth use the most,' said Tara Robinson with Youthlink Calgary, an organization that does crime prevention education for families and youth. Story continues below advertisement 'The presumption of good sites creates the vulnerability, so what you think is a simple game offers that opportunity for someone to exploit and lure — so it's not a bad platform, it's bad use,' said Insp. Mark Auger of the Alberta Integrated Child Exploitation Unit. View image in full screen Investigators allege predators first gain the youth's trust, desensitize them and then exploit them to commit acts of violence. Global News The youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was remanded in custody and the RCMP have commenced proceedings against the youth by way of a terrorism peace bond. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy A peace bond allows investigators to monitor people who appear likely to commit a crime when there's no evidence of an actual offence. The teen is set to appear in court next week.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parents are being caught off-guard by this violent extremist network targeting children
In April, two people were arrested in connection with a bomb plot at a concert in Brazil, where more than 2 million fans had gathered to watch Lady Gaga perform. Rio de Janeiro police stated the individuals were connected to a violent, and rising, online network known for targeting young people online, spreading LGBTQ hate and coercing young victims into performing horrific acts of harm and violence. In early May, the FBI announced it has 250 open investigations linked to the violent extremist network called '764' — in addition to local law enforcement investigations that are reportedly just as high. The cluster of groups exploits and abuses children and teenagers, often grooming them to commit ever more violent acts, including mass attacks similar to what was prevented at the April event. The investigations are taking place across all 55 FBI jurisdictions, alongside cases in a dozen countries worldwide. Warnings about the groups have been issued repeatedly by both the FBI and Canadian authorities, including through a new terrorism designation the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI began using — nihilistic violent extremism, or NVE — to describe the growing phenomenon. But despite growing law enforcement concern and attention, there's been virtually no investment in prevention. The rapid growth of these groups, whose victims are estimated to be in the thousands, has caught parents, teachers and mental health counselors off guard as kids as young as 9 have been groomed in the chat features of mainstream, youth-oriented social media and gaming platforms. This lack of awareness among adults and few prevention resources increase the risk that more youth will be harmed. In conversations I have had with high school students during presentations to school groups across the country this spring, teens have reported feeling 'numb' or 'apathetic' about the steady stream of violent content that crosses their feeds, including through occasional errors in content moderation that have led kids to inadvertently see livestreamed murders, suicides or child abuse as they are casually scrolling social media. And this is exactly the point; as a 2024 Canadian law enforcement warning about these groups explained, the goal is to 'manipulate and control victims to produce more harmful and violent content as part of their ideological objectives and radicalization pathway.' By desensitizing kids to violence and harm, they can get children and teens to commit horrific acts more willingly. The 764 label refers to a loose network of individuals and groups with various names and motivations but who all share a common set of tactics: coercion, manipulation and exploitation of teens and children. Some of the exploitation is rooted in financial extortion or nihilism, but in other cases, network members have been arrested in possession of Nazi material or have otherwise been engaged in networks and sites promoting violent extremism, mass shootings, Satanic rituals, or racially and ethnically motivated ideologies. The core tactics of 764 groups rely on convincing minors to livestream, photograph or record intimate images, acts of self-harm, animal abuse or abuse of other children that are then used to force them to escalate their actions and harm others. Members of these exploitative groups reach out to kids online, grooming children and teens through in-game chats of multiplayer video games such as Roblox and Minecraft, but also through a variety of mainstream gaming and social media platforms. Girls with disabilities have been particularly vulnerable; one 'how-to guide' online advises perpetrators to groom kids with mental illnesses because they are 'the most susceptible to manipulation.' In one example, a man involved in the 764 scheme reached out to a girl online and started a relationship with her, eventually convincing her that he was her boyfriend. He coerced her to send intimate photos, and then extorted her to commit acts of self -harm on camera. Again and again, victims later were found to themselves become abusers and recruiters for the groups. The rapid growth of these networks calls for a different, more upstream kind of prevention that can better safeguard families and children. Every child should receive comprehensive digital and media literacy that includes a focus on online manipulation. Parents, teachers, mental health counselors and other caregivers need help recognizing warning signs, from kids who are increasingly withdrawn, exhibiting personality changes or even wear long sleeves in warm temperatures as a way to conceal self-harm, to unusual injuries among pets. Parents also need help to stay informed about the online worlds their kids inhabit, especially problematic or vulnerable youth-oriented platforms or social media sites, and the wide range of evolving harms to which children and teens are exposed. And all communities need trained, informed mental health experts who can offer therapeutic support to the growing number of victims who have been harmed by these networks. We can't just expect families to build resilience to online harms. We also need to address the accountability of social media platforms that enable adults to exploit children and that have failed to address the impacts of increasing exposure to violent content on mainstream sites. Law enforcement and media attention to the growing problem of child exploitation networks like 764 is welcome and needed. But our kids deserve much more than attention and accountability for harms once they occur. They need us to work harder to keep them safe to begin with. This article was originally published on
