The Federal Government says it will introduce legislation to ban doxxing, the act of maliciously sharing someone’s personal information without their consent.
The Government said it comes after a group chat with over 600 members of the Australian Jewish community, including some of their names and jobs, was leaked last week.
Draft laws are expected to be introduced to Parliament as soon as possible.
What is doxxing?
During a press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus defined doxxing as “the malicious use of people’s personal information without their consent”.
Dreyfus added: “The recent targeting of members of the Australian Jewish community through those practices like doxxing was shocking, but sadly, this is far from being an isolated incident.”
Group chat
Last week, the contents of a WhatsApp group with over 600 Jewish Australians was leaked online and shared widely by pro-Palestinian activists. The leak also included a spreadsheet of more than 100 Jewish people with photos of them and links to their social media accounts.
A collective statement posted by some activists defended the leak, saying the chat demonstrated “the coordinated efforts of many working to silence support for Palestinian liberation”.
The statement said: “There were no addresses shared. There were no phone numbers shared. These were deliberately redacted.”
Federal Government plan to ban doxxing
The Government announced it will criminalise the practice of doxxing after the Prime Minister consulted with Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.
Details about the proposed ban have not been finalised. However, the Government will consider the role of social media platforms in penalising users who dox others.
The legislation will be tabled sometime this year.
Opposition support
Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said: “The Coalition strongly condemns the leaking of private information of a number of Jewish Australians online which is an abhorrent breach of privacy and an appalling attempt at intimidation.”
Cash said the Opposition is “happy to work with the government and community to ensure the legal framework is fit for purpose”.
