The emerging threat of violent, exploitative digital ‘com networks’: what do we need to know?
- Written by: Weekend Times
For many parents, keeping their children safe online is a top priority. But now there’s an emerging threat: “com networks”.
Com networks (short for community
networks) are online groups that mostly target vulnerable young people in the online spaces they use every day, including gaming platforms and social media.
Through threats, they convince young people to harm themselves and others.
Perpetrators are often motivated by status, fascination with violence, or sexual gratification.
What do we know about these networks?
These groups are known by many names and promote different harms. This makes them difficult to define and detect.
But we do know these groups are a growing threat to young people.
In June, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the threats are “confronting”. She added:
Right now, kids are hurting their siblings, killing their pets or injuring themselves because they are being blackmailed by other youth, teens or adults who enjoy watching the pain of others or are dominating and exploiting the vulnerable.
Europol recently removed more than 4,000 websites linked to “The Com” network in a joint operation with international authorities.
But the true number of com networks is unknown. As more reports emerge, there are warning signs parents should look for.
How are young people targeted?
A young person’s first encounter with a com network might not appear dangerous. It often seems like a normal conversation online, making the warning signs difficult to spot.
Perpetrators gradually build trust with the young person, exposing them to increasingly extreme content and behaviours. They may encourage the young person to share or do something humiliating, using this to pressure them into more harmful acts.
Children can be coerced into harming siblings, pets, or themselves, or encouraged to attempt suicide.
These groups often target isolated young people, those struggling with their mental health or body image, exploring their identity, or looking for friendship or acceptance online.
The line between victimisation and causing harm can become blurred: a young person might be experiencing abuse while also being pressured to recruit others or harm someone.
What are the warning signs?
There is no single giveaway of someone being linked to a com network.
But some suggested indicators of concern include:
sudden changes in eating or sleeping habits
distancing from friend groups
receiving anonymous gifts (physical or digital)
sudden changes in behaviour, routine, or appearance
unexplained injuries, including bruises, cuts or burns, and those which appear to form a symbol or word (“cut signs”)
family pets or other animals being harmed.
Other potential indicators of concern include:
letters, symbols, or numbers written in blood on walls (“blood signs”)
obsession with new online friends
unexplained injuries to siblings
use of encrypted communications platforms
cruelly sharing identifiable or private information (“doxing”)
hoaxing an emergency service to trigger an armed police response to a location (“swatting”).
In isolation, these indicators may not be related to com networks. But knowing what to look out for might help some people – including parents and caregivers – identify and report abuse.
What can be done?
Com networks do not sit neatly within existing categories of crime. Their hybrid nature means there are potential gaps in current interventions.
Effective prevention needs a holistic approach. It also needs to be collaborative, with tech providers and industry working alongside law enforcement.
Schools must keep working to reduce bullying and exclusion, equip children with digital literacy skills to recognise and resist this grooming, embed accessible reporting and anonymous support for bullying and harm, and provide greater monitoring of tech use in the classroom.
Parents and caregivers also play an important role in prevention. They are encouraged to understand the online games their children are accessing, along with talking with their children about whom they are interacting with online.
Communication and trust are key: young people are better protected when they feel they can talk to trusted adults and won’t be blamed.
If parents and caregivers are concerned about their children’s online interactions, they do not need to navigate this alone. Support is available, including Family and Child Connect, Kids Helpline and other child and family support services.
The eSafety Commissioner also has a reporting page for online harm.
Where there is an immediate risk of harm, parents should contact emergency services.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Sue Sweeney, co-author of our upcoming research project on this topic, contributed to this article.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
