Doxing (or doxxing) is a serious act of maliciously publishing private information of an individual online. If you have been a victim of doxing or would like to manage online content more responsibly, our trusted team at CM Lawyers is here to help. Navigating the complexities of doxxing becomes easier with legal advice, especially with reforms in the works.
This article takes you through what you need to know about doxing and the proposed anti-doxing law. Please check out the infographic for quick information or read more details below.
Australia is moving towards criminalizing doxxing under privacy legislation reforms introduced in parliament by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus on September 12. The long-anticipated bill is a direct response to the publication of members of a Jewish creatives WhatsApp group chat. After being doxxed, death threats to the members and their families followed. With anti-doxing laws, Attorney General Dreyfus aims to impose severe penalties to those who maliciously share personal information of other people online.
What Is Doxxing
When it comes to digital safety and understanding the proposed legislation, it is first crucial to grasp the concept of “doxxing meaning” and how this act affects personal security. Many people are concerned about hacking and doxxing meaning the same thing, but while both are related to data privacy, they are different things. You can be doxxed without being hacked.
What is doxxing, then? First, let’s look at the dictionary definition of the term.
Doxxing Meaning
Dox (verb)
“To publicly identify of publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge”
Source: Merriam-Webster
As opposed to a common misconception of hacking and doxxing meaning similar things, they aren’t. Hacking entails unauthorized access to your account, system, or device. However, the act can be classified under the doxxing meaning when someone publishes your private information regardless of how they access the information.
In the legal sense, doxing refers to the act of publishing identifying information about an individual online, typically with malicious intent to harass or threaten them. As The Guardian wrote, “the legislation says an offence has occurred if a person uses a carriage service to make available, publish or otherwise distribute information including the personal data of one or more individuals, and engages in the conduct in a way that reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing or harassing towards those individuals.”
Personal Information Under Doxing
Have you been doxxed? If someone maliciously spreads your private information, how will you know if it’s classified as doxing? According to the legislation, doxxing covers the publication of a personal details, including:
- Place of education or worship.
- Name;
- Photographs or images;
- Telephone number;
- Email address;
- Online account details;
- Residential or work addresses; and
- Place of education or worship.
Penalties for Doxxing
Individuals found guilty of doxing could face up to six years in prison for the basic offence. The penalty can increase depending on the offender’s motivation. If the individual is found to be guilty of doxing because of reasons like race, religion, SOGIE, disability, nationality, and ethnicity, imprisonment may increase up to seven years.
For example, an individual posts personal information of members of a private religious organization to incite harassment. This will be considered an aggravated offence, allowing those who have been doxxed to pursue legal action of imprisonment up to seven years.
No Exemptions
The legislation doesn’t include specific exemptions, including for professions like journalism. Since there are no provided exemptions, anti-far right campaigners have expressed their concern about the legislation being used against their work of unmasking members of neo-Nazi groups in Australia. The campaigners worry that neo-Nazi groups might complain that they’re being doxxed.
However, Attorney General Dreyfus stated in his speech that the government recognises that there would be “legitimate” instances for the publication and distribution of personal data.
“The new offences will apply only where a reasonable person would consider the conduct to be, in all the circumstances, menacing or harassing, to ensure that legitimate conduct is not inappropriately criminalized,” he said.
Related Note: Privacy Breaches
Alongside the doxing laws, the government also introduced a statutory tort for privacy breaches as part of the reforms. This allows victims to seek pursue civil action individuals who allegedly committed serious invasion of privacy against them.
The maximum penalty for privacy breach is $478,550 or the maximum amount of damages for non-economic loss under defamation law. Professional journalists and their companies, enforcement bodies, and intelligence agencies will have exemptions, provided that they adhere to professional standards and code of practice or are acting in public interest.
Seeking Professional Guidance
As the proposed privacy legislation reforms give rise to significant legal changes, individuals and organizations can benefit from trusted legal advice to understand the full implications. Whether you are seeking to protect your privacy or publish online content responsibly, expert legal advice can help you navigate the complexities of this legislation.
At CM Lawyers, we are dedicated to helping you effectively manage various legal matters. If you require guidance on privacy protection and other concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Sources
