‘Doxxing’ to Be Banned After 600 Jewish Identities Leaked Online

Israeli flags surround a placard as members of the Australian Jewish community hold a kite flying event for Israeli hostages who are currently being held by the Palestinian group Hamas, at a park in Sydney on November 19, 2023. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Saeed Khan / AFP) Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

The federal government plans to ban “doxxing” after the private details of 600 Jewish people were published online by pro-Palestinian activists.

Doxxing is the act of publishing private and confidential information on the internet with malicious intent.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the government is planning to fast-track legislation to stop the publication of private details online.

“Absolutely, we will,” Mr. Albanese said when asked if he would criminalise doxxing, in comments to 2GB.

“I’ve asked the attorney-general to bring forward legislation in response to the Privacy Act review, including laws that deal with so-called doxxing, which is basically the malicious publication of private information online,” he said.

Mr. Albanese raised concerns about the Jewish community being targeted because of their faith and described it as unacceptable.

He said he has asked the attorney general to develop proposals to strengthen laws against hate speech. “This is not the Australia that we want to see,” Mr. Albanese added.

“Let’s be very clear here, these are 600 people in the creative industries, people like Deborah Conway, the singer, people who are in the arts and creative sector, who had a WhatsApp group.”

“Not a WhatsApp group that was heavily political, a WhatsApp group to provide support for each other because of the rise in anti-semitism that we’ve seen. And what we’ve seen is them being targeted,” Mr. Albanese said.

“What they have in common, though, is the fact that they’re members of the Jewish community. And the idea that in Australia, someone should be targeted because of their religion, because of their faith, whether they be Jewish or Muslim or Hindu or Catholic or Buddhist, is just completely unacceptable.”

Cross-Party Federal MPs Back Proposal

The Executive Council of  Australia Jewry (ECAJ) had called for doxxing to be banned following the leak.

“A cross-party group of federal MPs is backing the proposal from the ECAJ, under which a provision explicitly prohibiting the practice would be added to the section of the federal criminal code which covers telecommunication offences,” the group said in a post to X on Feb. 12.

Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said there is “great shock and disbelief” that people are once again drawing up lists of Jews.

“It has been said to me by numerous community members that they feel relief that their parents or grandparents who survived the Holocaust are not alive to see this,” Mr. Ryvchin said.

This group of federal parliamentarians includes Liberal member Julian Leeser, Wentworth independent Allegra Spender, and Labor member Josh Burns.

Ms. Spender indicated she supported police investigations into the doxxing incident and potential legal protections.

“The recent doxxing of Jewish Australians, revealing their personal details including photos, and places of work is appalling. It is an enormous violation of privacy, anti-democratic, and has encouraged abhorrent intimidation, abuse, and death threats,” Ms. Spender said in a post to X on Feb. 12.

“I support Victorian police investigations of these actions and consideration of whether further legal protections are necessary. But the most important thing we can do is to come together as Australians and make it clear that this sort of behaviour is just not acceptable.”

Ms. Spender also said Australians cannot let events overseas divide this country.

“While we are imperfect, we need to continue to be a beacon of what a tolerant, open society looks like,” she said.

Australians Should Not Be Targeted Based on Race, Religion: Dreyfus

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, speaking to reporters on Feb. 13, defined doxxing as the “malicious release, publicly, of personal information of people without their consent.”

Mr. Dreyfus said no Australians should be targeted due to their race or because of their religion.

“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,”Mr. Dreyfus said.

“We live in a vibrant, multicultural community which we should strive to protect.”

ECAJ president, Daniel Aghion, welcomed Prime Minister Albanese’s support for the new provisions making doxxing a crime.

“While existing laws outlaw the use of social media platforms to menace and threaten others, the doxxers themselves, who orchestrated a campaign of intimidation, violent threats, and horrific abuse, cannot be allowed to get away with it,” Mr. Aghion said.

“Our call for this legislation was a response to a coordinated and malicious attack on hundreds of members of our community.

“We have called for an end to the impunity and we are grateful that the government has listened. We look forward to working with the government to ensure the full extent of the harm caused is understood and that the new laws effectively protect Australians from this shameful and dangerous practice.”