Digital Platforms as a Breeding Ground for Extremism and Radicalization

On the 22nd of June, the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City suffered an armed attack, a school shooting carried out by two teenage students, aged 14 and 15. In its wake, 3 students were killed, and 20 were injured. Throughout the investigation, the reasoning behind the armed attack shifted from the assumed and usual case of bullying to extremist influences from digital online platforms, leading to an investigation into digital platforms for suspected extremism and radicalization.

This would inevitably spark the debate surrounding youth in video games, which has gone back and forth between two sides. On one hand, video games can actively boost a minor’s cognitive performance and creative thinking skills. On the other, parents and authorities worry about the risks of behavioral shifts, such as increased aggression and anti-social behavior. With the events of the Tacloban school shooting, this debate has shifted to a matter of national security and child protection. Online platforms are increasingly being weaponized as a digital grooming ground for real-world violence. 

“We will reopen the hearing to determine whether online platforms play a role in the spread of violent ideas,” stated Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the Senate probe into the shooting. “It has become a nest for groups that brainwash and radicalize children.” The Senate investigation is also accompanied by severe warnings issued by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), who’ve stated that local and international syndicate groups are actively targeting and grooming minors online, with the goal of inciting them into committing acts of violence. 

This risk is most prevalent in a platform with an emphasis on user-generated content, much like Roblox. In the Philippines alone, 5.1 million users log in to Roblox daily, with the majority of these players in the under-13 age range. The platform’s sheer scale has made it the target of malicious actors, making it subject to ongoing controversies involving sexual predation, political extremism, and targeted radicalization. Notorious child exploitation groups such as 764 and CVLT have been detected preying on vulnerable minors. Extremist content is prevalent as well, involving far-right ideologies such as Neo-fascism and Neo-Nazism. This system of exploitation is compounded further by the broken moderation system Roblox employs. The high volume of user uploads to the platform causes its automated safety filters to become wildly inconsistent, flagging harmless content for vague violations while allowing explicit content to remain undetected. 

This phenomena of extremism is not isolated in the Philippines; in Singapore, security agencies flagged a case where two 14-year old boys utilized Roblox and Gorebox (the same platform Philippine authorities banned since it was the game often played by one of the suspects in the Tacloban shooting) to create pro-ISIS propaganda. The minors went so far as to create virtual simulations of active conflict zones in Syria and the 2017 Marawi Siege.

The investigation into the Tacloban shooting pointed out that one of the suspects was spotted wearing a shirt referencing the European industrial rock band KFMDM. This clothing choice and the reference to the band are associated with the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, where perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were known as enthusiastic fans of the band. 

Online platforms undeniably have an influence on the youth, and proper legislation must be put in place to hold these platforms accountable for their inaction. Beyond these platforms, systemic issues still linger that compound these issues even more. Our chronically underfunded education sector struggles to create the secure environments children need, made even worse by the shortage of qualified guidance counselors, standing at a ratio of 1 counselor to every 14,000 students.

The absence of these basic social services leaves the youth without a safety net. For instance, if a student were to fixate on tragic events like Columbine and struggle with anti-social behavior, an adequately staffed guidance office would ideally flag the behavioral shift. Without the proper staffing, monitoring the safety and welfare of students becomes purely reactive. If the government only treats the digital symptoms while leaving out the foundational cracks in our society, malicious actors will always find a way in.