INTELLIGENCE PARTNERS WARN OF ONLINE RADICALIZATION AMONG YOUTH

Sta 07 December 2024:

The intelligence partners of the “Five Eyes” have warned about the radicalisation of young people online, the news agency Reuters reported on Thursday (Dec 5) citing a research paper from the alliance.

The Five Eyes, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, said in the paper that mental health, education, and social services needed to intervene in many cases before the behaviour of minors became a police issue.

The intelligence partners of the alliance urged parents to be more alert to the risks. They also urged governments to strengthen legislation for law enforcement agencies to combat the threat and appealed to social media platforms to remove extremist content.

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Internet as a vector for extremist activities

The paper said that in the last 30 years, extremists have used the internet as a vector for their activities.

“Online environments provide an avenue for first approaches to minors, including through seemingly innocuous social media and gaming platforms, such as Discord, Instagram, Roblox and TikTok,” the research paper added.

Australia, UK release recent data

The research paper by Five Eyes came as Australia and the United Kingdom released data on young people.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess said in a statement, “Around 20 per cent of ASIO’s priority counter-terrorism cases involve young people. In every one of the terrorist attacks, disruptions and suspected terrorist incidents in Australia this year, the alleged perpetrator was a young person.”

“As a parent, the numbers are shocking. As an intelligence officer, the numbers are sobering,” Burgess added.

Meanwhile, in the UK, figures published on Thursday showed a record 3,026 children under the age of 15 being referred in the past year to the government’s Prevent programme, which aims to stop individuals from becoming terrorists.

Citing the data, a report by The Telegraph said that children under the age of 15 accounted for 43.7 per cent of all referrals to the programme.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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