Authorities have arrested 30 members of "The Com" – a violent online network targeting minors – and identified close to two hundred additional suspects in a sweeping global crackdown led by Europol.

Launching its first-ever operational mission in January, Europol's Project Compass announced this week it had not only arrested 30 alleged members of the heinous network, but also identified or partially identified another 179 perpetrators.

Furthermore, law enforcement successfully safeguarded at least four victims and identified or partially identified 62 more victimized individuals.

More than two dozen nations participated in the initiative, including all Five Eyes countries, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as law enforcement from EU Member States France, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as Norway and Switzerland.

A decentralized extremist network

Described as “a decentralised extremist network exploiting minors and vulnerable individuals across online platforms,” The Com – short for The Commmunity – has grown in recent years, boasting hundreds if not thousands of victims worldwide.

“These networks deliberately target children in the digital spaces where they feel most at ease,’ said Anna Sjöberg, Head of Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC).

Europol explains that large transnational virtual networks (TVNs) often splinter into smaller, fragmented subgroups, often based on their sexual interests or extreme ideologies, making them agile and harder to dismantle.

Here are three of The Com's major objectives according to the ECTC.

• Cyber Com: Targets online commerce or infrastructure by orchestrating network intrusions and deployment of ransomware.
• Offline Com: Encourages damage to property, harm to others or acts of terrorism to promote a violent nihilistic worldview.
• (S)extortion Com: Extorts minors to commit both online and offline sex crimes, as well as the promotion of self-harm and suicide, crimes against people, animals and property.

Recruit, radicalize, and exploit victims

The FBI has warned parents that The Com is “one of the most urgent online threats to young people,” gaining prominence with the rise of related online child exploitation groups, such as “764” in 2021.

As with 764, these nihilistic sub-groups specifically target minors – often blackmailing underage girls to make sadistic and sexually explicit videos for its web members and online distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

According to The Com, its all part of an ideological master plan to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations.

Members are said to use social media platforms, messaging applications, online gaming environments, and music streaming platforms to recruit, radicalize, and exploit their victims.

Global coordination steps in

Sjöberg praised the initiative for allowing law enforcement to “intervene earlier, safeguard victims, and disrupt those who exploit vulnerability for extremist purposes.”

“No country can address this threat alone - and through this cooperation, we are closing the gaps they try to hide in,” she added.

Project Compass was designed to foster coordinated investigations and information sharing among international authorities and enable rapid responses to emerging threats among its 28 partner countries.

As part of the project, nine joint awareness-raising activities were also launched since January.

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