IN BRIEF
- Two Australian agencies will spearhead a meeting with tech companies in London about protecting young people online.
- AFP commissioner Krissy Barrett says a "number of threat vectors" can lead to child exploitation or radicalisation.
This article contains references to self-harm.
Australian children accessing online spaces are facing the risk of "extremism, radicalisation and exploitation", the federal police commissioner says.
Now, Australia is joining forces with some of the world's leading law enforcement agencies and tech companies to prevent and penalise online crime and protect young people.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) are spearheading meetings between the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (FELEG) and big tech companies in London from 16 to 18 June.
Alongside Australia's representatives, attendees will include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, the UK's Counter Terrorism Policing and New Zealand Police.
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AFP commissioner Krissy Barrett told SBS News the meeting will prioritise "community safety" and combating the "scale and the pace" of "tech-enabled crime" targeting young people.
What is happening online?
In the 2024–25 financial year, the AFP's Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received 82,764 reports of online child exploitation and 1,325 reports of sextortion.
Barrett said there are a "number of threat vectors" that can lead to child exploitation or radicalisation.
They rely on a child being "exploited or manipulated" and, at times, coerced into participating in "crime as a service", which she described as a "worrying trend".
"We see organised crime groups targeting or exploiting young people to carry out particular parts of criminal offences," she explained.
"It might be a young person is tasked to go and source a jerry can, another young person is tasked to go and steal the car, a third young person is tasked to actually take the car, and the jerry can and start a fire at a location — that's what we're determining as crimes of service.
"[They're] being paid pretty small amounts of money and not understanding the severity or the ramifications of their part in what is a serious crime."
Barrett said that while young people are victims of crime, through "victimisation or manipulation, they are influenced to go and perpetrate crimes".
Who is at risk?
Barrett said young people between the ages of 14 and 16 are the most vulnerable — with young girls exposed to "sadistic online exploitation" by "decentralised online networks", she said.
"We see cases where young girls are being forced or manipulated to hurt themselves, hurt their pets, to hurt their siblings."
She said bad actors may tell their victim they will no longer be a target if they share videos hurting themselves or others.
The AFP has reported a rise in teenage boys possessing "violent, extremist material", she said.
Possessing or sharing such material was criminalised in January 2024. Since then, 22 young people have been charged with violent extremist material offences.
"We're talking about some very graphic material: beheadings, torture and killings," Barrett said.
"We know that can have a desensitising effect on a young person, who is at an age where they're still vulnerable in terms of knowing what's right and wrong, and coming up with their own belief systems."
Since 2020, the AFP has investigated 63 cases of youth radicalisation, with 33 charged with state or Commonwealth offences.
Of the 63 cases, 46 per cent were religiously motivated violent extremism and 24 per cent were ideologically motivated violent extremism.
The majority of the cases involved children living in NSW, with children with neurodiversity and mental health diagnoses being at higher risk of radicalisation.
Where is it happening online?
Child exploitation and radicalisation are facilitated through online environments such as gaming platforms and online chat groups, with AI chatbots being used to identify and target young people.
For Barrett, the inclusion of big tech companies in addressing these crimes is "imperative" because policing them is "beyond the ability of just law enforcement alone".
"We have the experience, we have the insights, we have the expertise around the criminal offending, but they own the platforms, they have the engineering, they understand how they can deploy different technologies to be far more proactive," she said.
She said that the FELEG — which brings together agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US — has never been "more important than it is now".
"We're at a point collectively, as Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, where we're saying that if we don't have some serious intervention now, we are going to see some significant challenges in our communities," she said.
When it comes to regulating and policing big tech companies in relation to these crimes, the commissioner said it's also a matter for other agencies, such as the eSafety Commissioner.
What can parents do?
Barrett said it's crucial for parents to understand that "these threats are real".
"We're seeing this in our caseload ... we're seeing it right across the spectrum of the Australian community," she said.
She said transparency cannot be overstated; parents "need to know what their kids are doing online".
"Every household will be different ... but I strongly encourage parents to understand what security mechanisms exist. Security settings are extremely important," she said.
A common pathway for young people who end up in high-risk online spaces is curiosity.
"Kids who are inquisitive and curious, and want to ask questions ... they might think [those questions] are too sensitive to ask a teacher or a trusted adult [and] will go online," Barrett explained.
"They're trying to find out the answers to these questions themselves, and we know in the online space how quickly you can get taken down the rabbit hole or echo chamber.
"We see, as law enforcement, how quickly that can then escalate into extremism, radicalisation, exploitation."
Barrett said parents need to "be able to have honest conversations with their kids".
"These kids need to know they can come to their parents for help."
She said young people need to understand their vulnerability, seek out trusted sources for information, and arm themselves with "the tools to understand" exploitative, crime-related behaviours online.
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at beyondblue.org.au. Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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