The leaders of Counter Terrorism for the ‘Five Eyes’ nations are calling for immediate international action to fight the growing threat to children posed by online extremism.
Read the full report
The ‘Five Eyes’ alliance brings together law enforcement and security agencies from the five countries to share intelligence, information and threat assessments across a range of issues relating to national security.
The ‘Five Eyes’, an alliance between the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, brings together law enforcement and security agencies from the five countries to share intelligence, information and threat assessments across a range of issues relating to national security.
For the first time since its inception during the Second World War, the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance has published a public-facing paper calling for a ‘whole society response’ against a specific threat – the radicalisation of children towards violent extremism.
Titled ‘Young People and Violent Extremism: A Call for Collective Action’ – the paper warns of a growing prevalence of children being drawn into violent extremism globally.
It calls for collective action from the public, Governments and the tech industry to tackle the problem, saying that ‘once law enforcement and security agencies become involved it is often too late’.
The Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, says: “Since 2020, Counter Terrorism Policing has been warning of the growing numbers of children being arrested in relation to terrorism offences. Last year we arrested more children than we ever have before, some as young as 12 years old.
“This is not a phenomenon unique to the UK, our colleagues across the world are dealing with the exact same problem and in many cases we are seeing the influence of the same extremist networks reach across all of the Five Eyes countries.
“For all the benefits it brings, the internet has also globalised extremism, accelerated the spread of hateful ideologies internationally, and made it possible for anyone with an internet connection to reach into the lives of children halfway round the world.
“This is not a problem which can be fixed by law enforcement or security agencies. We offer an important last line of defence and will continue to do that, internationally. But with my international colleagues, we are calling for a wider response that reaches the whole of society.”
The Five Eyes paper sets out key issues which must be addressed if this worrying trend is to be halted or reversed, each requiring different parts of society to come together in collective action. They are:
- Minors are ‘digital natives’ who are more technically savvy than previous generations. They use multiple platforms and applications in their daily lives, some of which are a security concern.
- Online environments, especially encrypted ones, offer unrestricted access to children by sex offenders, extremists and other malign actors – who can be trying to exploit them in a number of different ways.
- Engaging with children is more complex than with adults. The unique characteristics of adolescents makes them especially vulnerable to influence, while also making them more cynical about efforts to protect them.
- Law enforcement and security services are unable to address these concerns in isolation – it requires action from the public, Governments, tech companies and other sections of society to improve our collective defence against this issue.
- It’s not just someone’s age which can make them vulnerable, other factors like mental health or neurodiversity also play a significant role, and we are only just beginning to understand how these factors impact counter terrorism work.
The Five Eyes countries want to treat the publication of the ‘Young People and Violent Extremism’ paper as a call to action, urging parents to take greater interest in their children’s digital lives, Governments to strengthen legislative support for law enforcement, and the tech industry to take greater responsibility for the harm done on their platforms.
“Many threads have to come together if we are to stop this conveyor belt leading children towards extremism,” said Assistant Commissioner Jukes.
“The technology companies making vast amounts of money from children on their platforms must invest in making those platforms safer. Parents need to take a more active role in their children’s online lives.
“Law enforcement must work closely with our respective Governments to ensure we have robust legislation in place to protect people, and strengthen our ability to go after criminals operating online.
“My Five Eyes colleagues and I are calling the alarm globally about the risk to our children, and every single one of us has a role to play in the collective response we need to reduce that threat.”
The Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, added: “The fact that the Five-Eyes have chosen youth radicalisation for our first public research collaboration indicates how concerning, escalating and pressing this challenge is.
“Around twenty 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.”
Full Report: Five Eyes Insights – Young people and violent extremism: a call for collective action
For more information on how to report concerns about someone you know, visit ActEarly.uk