Law enforcement from several countries are sounding the alarm on the rise and risk of youth involved in ideological and terrorism-related activities, according to a new joint report.
It says that while the number of youth involved in terrorism-related activities in each country can fluctuate over time, there has been an increasing trend.
“Our nations have seen a rising prominence of young people and minors in counter-terrorism cases over the last few years,” the authors wrote.
They said that minors can be as dangerous as adults when it comes to carrying out terrorism crimes.
“Minors can often do what adults can – create and distribute violent extremist content, lead violent extremist groups, recruit and radicalise others to their extremist cause, and even undertake attacks,” the agencies said. “A minor can have significant influence within extremist contexts, including undertaking or supporting others to conduct violent extremist acts.”
In Canada between April 1, 2023 and March 31, police arrested six people under 18 for terrorism-related offences.
The report noted that youth are “digital natives,” as they grew up with technology and spend a lot of time online. The report says that is also where they are primarily being targeted for extremist causes, particularly on social media platforms.
“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 report said. “In these platforms, violent extremism is made more accessible, as violent extremist content can be created within the platforms themselves.”
Five Eyes agencies are calling for a “whole-of-society” response to combat the radicalization of minors and teens involved in terrorism-related activities, according to the report.
The agencies said different sectors of society could play a role, including the education sector, mental health industry, social services, technology companies, and communities.
Parents also have a direct role in protecting kids from becoming involved in these activities, the authors wrote.
”Agencies stress the importance of parents and guardians understanding their children’s online activities, so they can identify if their children are engaging with content online which may lead to radicalization.”
In a US. case study cited in the report, law enforcement officials arrested a 14-year-old on state terrorism charges in 2021. The youth had been sharing information online about how to build an improvised explosive device (IED). A search warrant turned up a fully built IED at the teen’s home, according to the joint report.
“The minor admitted to disseminating the instructions used to build the IED, which were from the ‘How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom’ article in the first issue of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula’s Inspire magazine, to other individuals online,” said the report.
The teen was sentenced to 18 months in a Juvenile Corrections facility in Arizona. Officials say the youth was released from the facility in July 2023 with conditions.
