Where Doxxing Came From and Why It Keeps Popping Up

(Bloomberg) -- It’s called doxxing (sometimes spelled doxing): the malicious posting of private information about you, your family, your photos or other details online -- without your consent -- for the whole world to see. Hackers have used such cyberbullying to hammer people from all walks of life, to shame or scare them or show devotion to some cause. Thousands of cases were reported during 2019’s pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and the tactic surged during 2020’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the U.S., prompting authorities to try new ways to stop it.

1. What is doxxing?

The word comes from “docs,” the abbreviation of “documents.” In the hacker culture of the early 1990s, “dropping dox” on someone -- putting their private data online in a publicly accessible file -- was often a means of revenge. Eventually the noun became a verb too. Although personal information is widely available on social media platforms nowadays, “doxxers” go further than usual searches, sometimes hacking into private files to get unlisted phone numbers, home or email addresses, Social Security numbers or details like where a target’s children go to school. The consequences can include emotional distress, harassment, intimidation, losing a job or worse.

2. Where does it happen?

Many places. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security accused “violent anarchists” of doxxing dozens of federal law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon, during protests that followed the death of George Floyd. The agency said it had replaced the officers’ name tags with badge numbers to help avert the risk. Hong Kong saw a lot related to pro-democracy protests: nearly 5,000 complaints about doxxing and other types of harassment in the first six months of protests in 2019, the city’s privacy commissioner said. About a third of those attacks targeted the police and at least 200 people seen as supporting the protests were doxxed by an anonymous website. U.S. senators fell victim to the practice during hearings for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In general, though, women and minorities are more likely to experience serious harassment online, including doxxing. The tactic was employed by online mobs to harass women who spoke out against sexism in video game culture during the “Gamergate” controversy of 2014.

3. What can be done?

In the U.S., federal law protects certain people performing official duties, such as federal court officers, against doxxing. There are also laws against stalking as well as general crimes such as data theft or harassment, and the possibility of civil lawsuits. Hong Kong’s lawmakers are debating legal changes that would give the government greater power to punish doxxing with fines and prison terms and potentially make services such as Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. criminally liable for user-generated content on their platforms. The city’s High Court granted an injunction in December 2019 to protect police from doxxing. Singapore amended anti-harassment laws to add doxxing as a new offense. Penalties include a fine of as much as S$5,000 ($3,650) and 12 months in jail if the intention was to cause fear or provoke violence.

4. What are major technology companies doing?

Mainly deleting such content. Facebook introduced a policy to remove content targeted to identify children and create risks to their safety, after children of police officers in Hong Kong fell victim to attacks. Twitter says doxxing is a breach of its policy that can result in the removal of content and permanent account suspension. A search engine such as Google can remove links to the material from its results but it doesn’t affect the hosting website, which can still appear on the internet.

The Reference Shelf

• A Pew Research Center survey on online harassment.
• The New York Times reported on how doxxing became a tool in the culture wars.
• Research by the Hong Kong Legislative Council on national measures to address doxxing.
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers guidelines on how to avoid being doxxed, and its own fact sheet on the Portland protests.

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