Comer and Higgins Investigate Violent Online Network 764

WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) are examining the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) capabilities to track and apprehend the violent online network known as "764," and other perpetrators using similar tactics. In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Chairman Comer and Subcommittee Chairman Higgins request a staff-level briefing to understand the FBI's investigations and apprehensions of those in the 764 network.

"Reporting indicates the FBI has opened more than 250 investigations tied to the group, which preys on children and teenagers on popular online platforms, including Roblox, and coerces victims into acts of self-harm, production of child sexual abuse material, harm to animals, and even suicide," wrote the lawmakers.

Founded in 2021, the 764 network is an extensive, decentralized, online criminal network that primarily exploits vulnerable children through computer games and other online platforms. While multiple members of the network have been arrested in recent years, thousands of members are still spread across the globe abusing children. Members of the group use threats, blackmail, and manipulation to coerce victims into filming acts of violence, where the footage is then shared among members of the network to continue to extort and exert control over victims.

"The disturbing tactics attributed to this network-grooming, manipulating, and blackmailing of minors-underscore a serious and continuously evolving threat to children and families across the United States. These harms demand rigorous oversight and an evaluation of whether existing federal countermeasures are effective and adequately resourced to combat these elusive online perpetrators," continued the lawmakers.

Read the letter to FBI Director Patel here.