Posted on 02/13/24
| News Source: FOX News
The Australian government said Tuesday it will prohibit doxxing, the malicious and non-consensual release online of an individual's personal or identifying information, after pro-Palestinian activists published personal details of hundreds of Jewish people in the country.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said the proposed laws would involve issuing take-down notices to social media platforms and imposing fines.
The government's proposal comes in response to news reports last week revealing that pro-Palestinian activists had published the names, images, professions and social media accounts of Jewish people working in academia and the creative industries.
Pro-Palestinian activists distributed a nearly 900-page transcript leaked from a private WhatsApp group created last year by Jewish writers, artists, musicians and academics, Nine Entertainment reported. The transcript was accompanied by a spreadsheet of the names and other personal details of almost 600 people who are allegedly members of the group.
Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus leaving the house of representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. (AP)
Author Clementine Ford, one of several activists who posted links to the leaked information, purported that publishing the personal information of the Jewish people in the WhatsApp group should not be labeled as doxxing.
"This chat demonstrated extremely organised moves to punish Palestinian activists and their allies," Ford wrote on Instagram.
Dreyfus said the proposed laws would strengthen Australian protections against hate speech, but provided few details about how they would work.
"The increasing use of online platforms to harm people through practices like doxxing, the malicious release of their personal information without their permission, is a deeply disturbing development," Dreyfus told reporters.
"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," he added.