Doxxers May Be Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail With upcoming Privacy Act Reforms

Australia’s federal parliament will introduce laws today that could lead to offenders being imprisoned for up to seven years for exposing people’s personal information without permission.

This practice, commonly known as doxing, involves revealing someone’s personal information without their consent, often with the aim of causing harassment.

The term “doxing” originates from “document,” indicating the act of sharing a document containing someone’s information.

Under the new legislation scheduled to be presented to the government on Sept. 12, individuals engaging in doxing offenses may face six years in prison, with an additional year added for targeted attacks based on race, religion, or sexuality.

The federal government initially announced its crackdown on doxing in February 2023 following the leak of personal information of 600 Jewish Australian members in a WhatsApp group for artists and creators.

According to the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, the attack exposed the names, images, professions, and social media accounts of the group members.

Prominent Australian feminist and anti-Israel activist Clementine Ford was among the high-profile personalities who shared the document containing the doxxing with her 250,000 followers.

Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus expressed deep concerns about the increasing use of doxxing for harassment purposes.

In a statement, he mentioned, “Action to combat doxxing would complement other critical reforms being progressed by the government to strengthen the Privacy Act, as well as laws against hate speech and to further protect online safety.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that in Australia, nobody should be singled out based on race or religion.

The federal opposition has voiced support for the introduction of anti-doxxing legislation.

Once passed, the new legislation will modernize the existing Privacy Act from 1998.

Reforming Laws

Hate speech laws will also be rolled out alongside the doxxing crackdown. However, there has been disagreement between parties as Labor aims to navigate the balance between free speech and hate.

These laws will target derogatory remarks concerning gender, sexuality, race, religion, and disability.

Vilification laws are overseen by states and territories.

Revisions to the Privacy Act will include a children’s online privacy code focusing on social media usage.

Nevertheless, these changes are not expected to eliminate an exemption that currently relieves small businesses from the legal obligation to safeguard customer information.

While the existing exemption predates the digital age, small businesses have expressed apprehension about the expenses involved in such measures.

The alterations will not encompass informal consent to prevent large corporations from entangling consumers with complex terms and conditions, ensuring the right to be forgotten for revoking access to public information.