Australian girls are being hunted by online crime networks and coerced into acts of violence - against themselves, their siblings, or pets - in a 'twisted type of gamification,' police have warned. A new taskforce has been set up to help global authorities tackle this 'new and disturbing front in traditional gender-based violence,' Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett will say in a speech on Wednesday.
Three people have already been arrested in Australia, and another nine people around the world. It is unclear what the acts being committed by targets are, but Ms. Barrett states that the alleged perpetrators hold violent extremist views and want to hurt people 'for fun.' The offenders, aged in their late teens or early 20s, often recruit pre-teen or teenage girls through gaming platforms like Roblox and messaging apps such as Discord and Telegram.
These individuals, referred to as 'crimefluencers,' subscribe to a variety of ideologies, including nihilism, sadism, Nazism, and satanism. They operate similarly to multiplayer online gaming culture, recruiting and stalking victims from various online platforms. Their motivation is said to be purely for amusement and popularity online, rather than financial gain. The AFP has identified nearly 60 alleged offenders, and cooperation with other Five Eyes nations is ongoing.
Simultaneously, Australia is poised to introduce a world-first social media ban for kids under 16, aimed at minimizing online harm. However, notable exemptions exist, as gaming and messaging platforms will not be included in the new regulations, set to take effect in December.
Three people have already been arrested in Australia, and another nine people around the world. It is unclear what the acts being committed by targets are, but Ms. Barrett states that the alleged perpetrators hold violent extremist views and want to hurt people 'for fun.' The offenders, aged in their late teens or early 20s, often recruit pre-teen or teenage girls through gaming platforms like Roblox and messaging apps such as Discord and Telegram.
These individuals, referred to as 'crimefluencers,' subscribe to a variety of ideologies, including nihilism, sadism, Nazism, and satanism. They operate similarly to multiplayer online gaming culture, recruiting and stalking victims from various online platforms. Their motivation is said to be purely for amusement and popularity online, rather than financial gain. The AFP has identified nearly 60 alleged offenders, and cooperation with other Five Eyes nations is ongoing.
Simultaneously, Australia is poised to introduce a world-first social media ban for kids under 16, aimed at minimizing online harm. However, notable exemptions exist, as gaming and messaging platforms will not be included in the new regulations, set to take effect in December.
