The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says youth radicalization by extremists is a problem across the country.
The issue was thrown into the spotlight late last year when CSIS Director Daniel Rogers outlined it in his year-end report. He said, increasingly, extremists use the internet to spread their ideologies and the use of violence to achieve their goals.
"Worryingly, nearly 1-in-10 terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18," Rogers said.
It’s now at the point where CSIS investigators regularly run into minors, some as young as 13, in their probes.
Neil Bisson is a former CSIS intelligence officer. He said the trend has become alarming, pointing to the internet and digital media as part of the problem.
"Younger and younger people are using, or being involved in, terrorist-related activity because of what they’re seeing, what they’re ingesting and who they’re communicating with online," he said.
Some experts say young people are spending more and more time on the internet, where they are exposed to extremist ideologies.
"You have social media, encrypted messaging, online gaming platforms," said Ritesh Kotak, a Toronto-based cyber security analyst. "These are all platforms that are able to connect directly with the kids and be exploited."
Kotak said there should be more regulation, forcing online platforms to comply — and even the tech giants themselves should be doing more. Law enforcement agencies say they cannot address the issue alone, and they’re asking parents, communities, educators and frontline workers and technology companies to help mitigate the threat of violent extremism.
