Organised online networks are 'gamifying' violence and encouraging self-harm, targeting children in games including Roblox and Minecraft. With cases before the courts in Australia and around the world, experts want parents to know the warning signs.
764 network spreads across borders
The 764 network has perpetrators and victims in dozens of countries. In June, a Swedish teenager went on trial for dozens of offences – including allegedly encouraging someone to self-harm and the creation of child sexual abuse material – with alleged victims around the world, including in Australia.
Guardian Australia has tracked this case, which is one of many before the courts in Sweden, the United States, Australia and around the world, to understand the spread of online networks that engage in sadistic sexual and violent extortion. This evolving and borderless online ecosystem is prompting growing concern from authorities, who warn that grooming and extortion can turn victims into perpetrators.
“These are young people recruiting other young people,” one expert said. “It is a youth phenomenon.”
