These online groups have ties to known Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremist (IMVE) entities and are targeting youth online with the intention of getting them to record or live-stream acts of self-harm, suicide, animal torture and/or produce child sexual abuse material. The footage is then circulated among online networks and used to further control and extort the young victims. In many cases, perpetrators are minors themselves. Victims may end up being encouraged or coerced into victimizing others.

Key motivators for members of these groups are to spread their ideology, gain notoriety, collect extreme violent online content, and rise in status within their groups.

They operate on publicly available platforms, including gaming platforms, social media sites and mobile applications that are popular with youth (Roblox, Discord, Minecraft, Twitch, Telegram, Steam, etc.). This type of offence usually starts with a direct message through gaming platforms and can move to more private chatrooms on other virtual platforms, typically one with video enabled features, where the conversation quickly becomes sexualized or violent.

One of the tactics being used by these actors is sextortion, however, they are not using it to extract money or for sexual gratification. Instead they use it to further manipulate and control victims to produce more harmful and violent content as part of their ideological objectives and radicalization pathway.

One IMVE group targeting children is commonly known as the 764 network (or “the com”) but goes by various monikers. Some of the largest sub-groups are known as: CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, 7997, 8884, 2992, 6996, 555, Slit Town, 545, 404, NMK, 303, and H3ll.

There are many major crimes being committed by these groups. Most concerning is the sexual exploitation, harm inflicted on children and animals, and aim to get victims to commit suicide on camera.

Warning signs       

The following are some key indicators that your child could be the target of an IMVE group creating child sexual abuse and violent content online:

• They are on the mobile application Discord, Telegram or other encrypted communications platforms and for which you have no visibility as a parent.
• They are receiving anonymous gifts, items delivered to your home, currency, gaming currency or other virtual items.
• They are demonstrating an interest or affinity to extreme messaging online, including conspiracy theories, anti-government rhetoric, or sympathy/support toward extreme messaging or online propaganda.
• They are demonstrating a newfound and abrupt interest in questioning or rejecting moral constraints on their behaviour, together with an interest in Nazism, school shootings, serial killers, or occultism.
• Family pets or other animals are being harmed or die suspiciously.
• You notice a family pet is uncharacteristically avoiding or fearful of your child or you.
• Writing in blood or what appears to be blood.
• They have a new online “friend” or network they seem infatuated with and/or scared of.
• They are covering their skin in unusual ways.
• They are going through more bandages, or showing evidence of cuts, carvings on their skin, stab wounds and more.
• They are more quiet than usual and uncharacteristically withdrawn.
• They are excessively moody and on edge.
• Their grades are dropping.
• They are spending more time on the internet, unsupervised or alone in their room.
• They are spending more money online or asking for money more often than usual.
• They are scrawling names and/or numbers in notebooks, diaries, loose papers.

Note: These indicators alone may not be significant, however when considering them in clusters or with the totality of circumstances, could have more meaning and reason for concern.

Help RCMP take action

Canadian victims have come forward and there are likely more victims across the country.

RCMP asks parents, guardians and adults in positions of authority to keep an eye out for indicators that a child or youth is being targeted or exploited and report the information to Cybertip.ca or your local police. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1.

Your report could be the missing piece to preventing more harm.

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From July 29 to September 25, 2021, Canadian Heritage consulted with Canadians, social media platforms, stakeholders, industry, academia, civil society and others to explore the issues and challenges in developing a legislative and regulatory framework to manage the proliferation of harmful content online.

Today, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, released the report What We Heard: The Government’s proposed approach to address harmful content online.

The report highlights that the overwhelming majority of respondents agree the Government of Canada needs to take action to confront harmful content. However, respondents raised concerns around the complexity of this issue and warned about unintended consequences if a thoughtful approach is not taken. In the coming weeks, the Department of Canadian Heritage will engage a group of experts whose mandate will be to collaborate with stakeholders and Canadians, in order to provide the Government with advice on how to adjust the proposal. This work will be carried out in a transparent and expedited manner, and the Minister will propose a revised framework as soon as possible. The Government of Canada is committed to getting this right and to doing so as quickly as possible.

“We are committed to ensuring that online platforms provide safe and respectful experiences for Canadians to engage and share information with one another. This is a very important and complex issue. I want to thank everyone who participated in this consultation and provided their input on the proposed framework. We will continue to engage stakeholders and Canadians in order to get this right.”—The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage

“Canadians expect that their government will protect them from harmful content online. The consultation held over the summer was an important step toward creating a safer and more inclusive online environment for all Canadians. The report being released today will help us develop a new framework for addressing harmful content online, while respecting freedom of expression in a free and democratic society.”—The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“Harmful content online is a real concern for Canadians, and it’s imperative that the government works with online platforms to eliminate such content and help keep Canadians safe both online and off. We’re going to push forward with this important work and take meaningful action to protect Canadians while also protecting our fundamental freedoms.”—The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety

Quick Facts

Harmful content, such as hate speech, sexual exploitation of children and incitement to violence, is published online every day. There are no broad regulatory requirements in Canada that apply to platforms regarding their responsibilities in relation to such content.

As outlined in the 2021 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada is committed to fighting harmful content online by working toward a more equitable and safer Internet.

On July 29, 2021, the Government of Canada launched a public consultation seeking Canadians’ views on a detailed technical discussion paper that outlined a proposal for regulating online platforms and combating certain types of harmful content online.

The release of What We Heard: The Government’s proposed approach to address harmful content online is based on 422 unique responses and 8,796 individual submissions. This is an important step in identifying gaps in order to develop a legislative and regulatory framework to address the issue of harmful content online in the near future.

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

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