The Com & 764: When “Enlighten, Not Frighten” Means Confronting a Frightening Reality - A New Resource!
Caveat - On September 3rd, the RCMP arrested a 17-year-old in Lethbridge, Alberta, whose alleged online activities were reported as being consistent with the 764 network (1). Canada formally listed 764 as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code in December 2025. What continues to stand out to us is the involvement of young people themselves within 764 and the broader online ecosystem often referred to as “The Com.” This is not simply an environment where youth can become targets. In some cases, minors may also become participants in these networks. CSIS has specifically identified youth involvement in violent online extremist ecosystems and reported that nearly one in ten of its terrorism investigations now involves at least one subject under 18. This adds another layer of complexity to the threat and reinforces why parents, caregivers, educators, and professionals working with youth need to understand what these online communities are, how they operate, and how young people can become drawn into them as members, and how youth victims are targetted, thus the reason for this article and a new information resource to help educate parents, caregivers, and educators on this nihilistic online community.
As many of our long time followers know, one of the core principles that guides our work here at The White Hatter is “Enlighten, Not Frighten.” When it comes to youth, technology, and online safety, we believe parents, caregivers, and educators are better served by evidence, context, education, and practical strategies than by fear based messaging.
However, “Enlighten, Not Frighten” does not mean minimizing genuine online threats. There are times when what is happening online is deeply disturbing and deserves our full attention. One of those threats involves a decentralized online network commonly associated with “764” and the broader community often referred to as “The Com.”
These networks have been associated with individuals who target vulnerable youth and teens online, attempting to manipulate, coerce, and psychologically control them. In some cases, victims have been pressured into producing increasingly harmful or degrading content, including acts of self-harm, violence, sexual exploitation, or abuse. Some offenders appear to treat the suffering of their victims as entertainment, status, or social currency within these online communities.
Here at The White Hatter, we have now assisted three Canadian families whose children were targeted by individuals associated with 764, and we have previously written about what we learned through those experiences (2)(3). What these families experienced reinforced something we have said repeatedly, although these networks may exist online, the harm they can cause offline is very real.
Today, we watched an investigative report produced by Sky News in the United Kingdom examining The Com and 764. The report is currently available to watch free on YouTube. Much of what we saw in the investigation closely reflected behaviours, tactics, and patterns we encountered while assisting the three families here in Canada, and that is important.
764 and the broader networks associated with The Com are not simply a problem belonging to one country, one platform, or one corner of the internet. They represent a decentralized and international online ecosystem where individuals can connect across borders and potentially target young people wherever they happen to be online, as you will see in the attached video.
In our opinion, this Sky News investigation is one of the more important publicly available resources we have seen for helping parents, caregivers, educators, and others who work with youth understand what 764 and The Com can look like in practice.
Knowledge matters here! Understanding how these individuals identify potential targets, establish relationships, manipulate vulnerabilities, escalate demands, and use fear or coercion can help adults recognize warning signs earlier. Just as importantly, it can help us have informed conversations with youth and teens before they ever encounter someone connected to these communities.
This is where our philosophy of “Enlighten, Not Frighten” becomes especially important. The goal should not be to terrify young people about everyone they meet online. It should be to give them the knowledge and skills to recognize when an interaction is becoming manipulative, coercive, threatening, or unsafe, and to make sure they know that coming to a trusted adult for help will not result in blame, shame, or simply having their technology taken away.
Before watching the Sky News investigation, we do want to provide an important warning. The report contains highly disturbing and potentially triggering material involving the exploitation and abuse of young people. This is not something we would recommend casually showing to children or teens without first reviewing it yourself. However, for parents, caregivers, educators, counsellors, law enforcement, and others who work with young people, we believe the information contained in this investigation deserves attention.
Sometimes “Enlighten, Not Frighten” means reassuring families that an online risk has been exaggerated. Other times, it means having the courage to look directly at something that is genuinely frightening, understand how it works, and use that knowledge to better protect and prepare the young people in our lives.
Knowledge, and the understanding, application, and preparation of that knowledge is power. Big tip of our White Hat to Sky News for this look into The Com and 764
Here is the link to the "age restricted" YouTube Video - Again, the video contains highly disturbing and potentially triggering material involving the exploitation and abuse of young people by “The Com” and 764.
Here's a recent Canadian Podcast on "The Com" and "764" as well
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech
Reference:
1/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lethbridge-terrorism-charges-online-extremism-764-9.7361451
