Doxxing

Doxxing or doxing is a malicious act of publicly searching and revealing sensitive (and private) information about an individual, group of people, or an organization. Doxing although in itself is not illegal, if it’s targeted towards cyber-bullying, blackmailing, or identity theft, it can become a case of cybercrime.

Doxing in communities can include digging and publicly sharing personal information about other community members. It can include derogatory comments, publicly berating, and spamming information that is aimed at destroying someone’s image.

How can you make sure to prevent or take care of doxxing?

• Make clear community guidelines about refraining from sharing any kind of personal information if it’s not consensual.
• Encouraging a culture of publicly asking to DM someone and only doing so upon receiving consent.
• Moderate the community for any type of malicious content and take strict actions when you come across anything even remotely close.
• Take strict actions on spamming community channels.
• In some cases, if the community is susceptible to doxxing or anything relating to it, you can add a verification wall to screen interested users before they become members.

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