Doxxing outlawed
The Australian parliament has passed landmark legislation to strengthen privacy protections for all Australians and outlaw doxxing.
Peter Wertheim
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement that “Australians want their privacy respected. When they are asked to hand over their personal data, Australians expect it will be protected.”
The co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim, commented: “It is gratifying that a law which the ECAJ called for in February to proscribe the pernicious practice of doxxing has now been passed by the Federal parliament.
The doxxing of 600 Jewish creatives at the beginning of the year caused enormous damage to the lives of several victims and a strong message needed to be sent that this kind of malicious behaviour has no place in Australia. We commend the government for heeding our call and express our appreciation to the Opposition for giving the legislation bipartisan support.
The legislation will protect all Australians from this form of online abuse, and ensure that the hate-motivated situation we witnessed earlier this year will never be repeated.”
The legislation builds on the significant steps already taken by the Government on privacy, including:
- significantly increased penalties for repeated or serious privacy breaches
- greater powers for the Australian Information Commissioner to resolve privacy breaches and quickly share information about data breaches
- restoration of the standalone position of the Australian Privacy Commissioner
