Europol has flagged 4,340 URLs for removal following a multi-week operation targeting online content linked to ‘The Com,’ a decentralized network of nihilistic violent extremist groups. The operation, known as Referral Action Days, took place between June and July 2026 and involved law enforcement officers from nine European countries.
The operation was aimed at disrupting The Com's online presence, remove extremist material, and support ongoing investigations. Authorities identified content including violent videos, self-harm and suicide material, child sexual abuse content, animal cruelty, violent attacks, and manuals promoting crimes such as murder, grooming, improvised explosives, doxing, and swatting.
According to Europol, The Com operates as a loose network with no single ideology, although some factions promote violent right-wing extremist and accelerationist beliefs. Members recruit victims through social media, messaging apps, and gaming platforms, using grooming and extortion to coerce them into self-harm, violence, and the creation of child sexual abuse material. The network includes several subgroups focused on terrorism, cybercrime, and the exploitation of minors.
The operation builds on Project Compass, a Europol-led initiative launched in 2025 involving law enforcement agencies from 28 countries. In April 2025, two alleged leaders of the 764 subgroup were arrested. They are accused of running an international child exploitation network and are facing life imprisonment. More recently, the Dutch police apprehended a young man suspected of being part of 764. The public prosecution department said that the suspect encouraged underage girls to cut themselves and write his online name on a wall with their own blood (so-called “bloodsigns”).