News item | 12-07-2023 | 08:00
It will be a criminal offense to share someone else’s personal data with the intention of intimidating that person. The Senate today adopted a bill to make the use of personal data for intimidating purposes – also known as doxing – a criminal offense. The law is expected to enter into force on January 1, 2024.
The phenomenon of doxing is common. Personal details, such as addresses and phone numbers, as well as private information about family members, are distributed in app groups so that they can be used to scare someone. This has a major impact on the people who are attacked in this way. They fear for their safety and that of their loved ones. They can no longer freely express their opinion. Or they are no longer able to fulfill their function. This affects our fundamental freedoms and the functioning of our democratic constitutional state.
It is often aid workers, police officers, journalists and politicians who fall victim to doxing. But scientists, opinion formers or employees of municipalities also have to deal with people who distribute or forward their personal data with the aim of intimidating them. The House of Representatives and employers such as the police have previously indicated that they are concerned about their employees and have argued for a criminal-law approach to this problem. Doxing is not limited to certain professions, people can be confronted with it for all kinds of reasons. For example, think of someone who puts a photo and phone number of an ex-partner on a dubious online forum to scare them.
Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius of Justice and Security: “You don’t touch our aid workers, agents and others who are committed to our free society in any way! Spreading private information to frighten another is really unacceptable. Journalists, scientists and politicians must always be able to speak freely. We cannot and must not accept that families no longer feel safe at home. I am therefore pleased that the Senate has also agreed to this bill and that we are drawing a line together: everyone can become a victim of doxing and must be able to be protected against it.”
Much intimidating behavior is already a criminal offence. Think of threats and stalking. However, intimidation through the use of personal data is often not criminally punishable in practice. For example, because there is no threat of a serious crime or a systematic infringement of the privacy of the person concerned. Obtaining, disseminating or otherwise making available identifying personal data of another or a third party with the aim of instilling fear, causing serious nuisance or causing serious hindrance in that other person the exercise of his office or profession, is subject to a maximum term of imprisonment of two years or a fine of up to 22,500 euros. The maximum prison sentence is increased by one third in the case of doxing against persons of a certain profession, such as mayors, politicians, judges, lawyers, journalists and police officers.
The new law gives the police and the Public Prosecution Service greater scope to act against doxing. The victim can also start a civil procedure himself if it is known who posted the offending content online. Then compensation and the removal of the unlawful content can be demanded. If the perpetrator is not known, a report can always be made to the intermediary who hosts the content. Intermediaries such as providers and online platforms have a role to act if they are aware that their platforms or servers contain criminal or unlawful content.