Europol targets 4,340 URLs in ‘The Com’ crackdown

Europol has identified more than 4,300 URLs for takedown as part of a coordinated international campaign against “The Com,” a loose collective of nihilistic violent extremist groups operating largely online. The operation, conducted between June and July 2026, involved law enforcement agencies from nine countries: Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

Dubbed “Referral Action Days,” the initiative was spearheaded by Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) and Spain’s Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) . It aligns with the European Commission’s ProtectEU counterterrorism strategy, aiming to dismantle The Com’s digital footprint, curb the spread of nihilistic violent extremist content, and develop new investigative leads.

“The Com’s content is laced with coded language and emojis that adults may struggle to decipher, conveying sinister messages that encourage self-harm and the sexual exploitation of minors,” Europol stated. The flagged material includes violent videos and images depicting self-harm, suicide, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), animal cruelty, and violent attacks. Additional content features footage of street attacks known as “manhunts,” arson, and instructional manuals covering grooming, murder, improvised explosives, and ideological indoctrination. These guides are used to train members in committing violent acts, coercing vulnerable minors, and conducting doxing or swatting.

This operation builds on Project Compass, a broader yearlong effort launched in January 2025 under Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre, which involves law enforcement from 28 countries. As BleepingComputer reported in February, that initiative has already led to 30 arrests, identified 179 suspects tied to The Com, and located 62 victims. In January 2025, Europol also issued a public notification about the rise of online cult communities specifically targeting young people.

What is The Com? Europol defines The Com (short for Community) as a decentralized network without a unified ideology, though some factions embrace violent right-wing extremist and accelerationist beliefs. Affiliated groups recruit and groom victims through social media, messaging apps, and gaming platforms, coercing them into self-harm, violence, and producing child sexual abuse material, often via extortion.

“They distribute propaganda on accessible platforms to attract young individuals, funnelling potential members and victims into private forums and chat rooms where radicalisation and victimisation occur,” Europol added. Victims are typically kept under control through sextortion.

The Com is organized into several subgroups, including Offline Com, which promotes property damage, harming others, and terrorism; Cyber Com, focused on network intrusions and ransomware attacks; (S)extortion Com, which coerces minors into sex crimes and encourages self-harm and suicide; and 764, a subgroup that emerged in 2021 and is notorious for grooming young people into producing explicit content for blackmail or sharing among members. Two alleged 764 leaders, 20-year-old Prasan Nepal and 21-year-old Leonidas Varagiannis, were arrested in April 2025 and face life in prison for operating an international child exploitation ring. The Com has also been linked to high-profile ransomware attacks, including breaches at Las Vegas casinos in September 2023 and at Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods in April 2025.