After testing positive for the coronavirus, a young woman in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, fell victim to doxxing and cyberbullying, behaviors that amounted to rubbing salt into the wound of the innocent pandemic victim.
The 20-year-old woman, surnamed Zhao, had her personal information exposed on the Internet on Dec. 8 amid false claims that she continued to travel around the city knowing her grandparents had been infected. Zhao denied the allegations in a social media post the next day, saying she stopped going out and underwent quarantine and treatment after being confirmed a COVID patient. Her test results came out one day after her grandparents tested positive.
After her personal details, including her name, photos, address, mobile phone number and ID number, were posted online, Internet trolls mounted vicious attacks. Some labeled her the "Virus Queen" of Chengdu. Some even implied or claimed that she was a prostitute – simply basing on the fact that she visited three bars Dec. 6, which was revealed in a travel tracing report of anonymous COVID-19 patients. One post said "Congratulations to those who kissed her in bars." Another speculated that "The source of the virus is not the grandma, but the sugar daddy of the granddaughter."
The attacks forced Zhao to explain in her post that her work at several bars was simply "marketing and creating atmosphere." She revealed that she had received many abusive calls and messages from strangers, which caused lots of stress and anxiety to her and her family while they were receiving treatment in hospital.
Doxxing – an Internet-based practice of searching and posting private or identifying information about an individual or group – has become a global problem in recent years as the use of social media surges.
Doxxing usually leads to harassment, intimidation, stalking, public shaming and other disruption of peoples' lives. Many doxxers believe they are seeking justice when publishing the private information of an individual who they believe has done something wrong.
During the 2017 Charlottesville protests in the United States, doxxing was viewed as a tool of Internet vigilantism, which targeted neo-Nazis and white supremacists who took part in right-wing rallies. However, even when used with an ostensibly good intention, doxxing is illegal, and can easily target the wrong person or cause unexpected, collateral damage as doxxing is done outside the normal processes of adjudication and fact-finding that we find in journalism or legal investigations.
Doxxing usually comes in tandem with cyberbullying. In some cases, it becomes an online equivalent of mob lynching. Doxxing and cyberbullying can cause serious consequences, sometimes leading to victims losing jobs or even committing suicide. In the last few years, a string of celebrities and students in South Korea have died because of cyberbullying.
Some courts have handed out harsh punishments on doxxers. In November this year, Hong Kong's District Court sentenced former Hong Kong Telecom worker Chan King-hei to two years' imprisonment after he was found guilty of offenses including doxxing the father of a police inspector.
Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che said doxxing could have a serious psychological impact on police and cause distress to innocent family members. Yiu cited the father's description of feeling helpless, fragile and anxious about his safety.
In Hong Kong, doxxing may be a criminal offense under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance punishable by a fine of up to HK$1 million (US$129,000) and five years in jail.
The judge wanted the sentence to serve as a deterrent. From June last year to the end of September this year, Hong Kong's privacy commissioner handled more than 1,650 doxxing cases targeting police and their family members. During the riots and protests in Hong Kong last year, many police officers battling violent protesters fell victim to doxxing. Some officers received threats to the safety of their family members including young children.
The man who exposed Zhao's personal information was given an "administrative penalty" by police, who did not reveal the details of the punishment. Although Chengdu police acted swiftly, such a punishment appears to be too lenient to act as a deterrent. China has laws and regulations protecting personal information and the right to privacy. Article 253(1) of the Criminal Law stipulates that anyone who sells or provides to a third party other people's personal information illegally faces up to three years' imprisonment and a fine in a "serious case," or up to seven years in jail and a fine in a "specially serious case." If this clause does not apply to doxxing, a new law should be adopted to specifically address the problem.
As doxxing has become a serious issue in this age of social media, law enforcement departments should fully understand the full magnitude of the harms caused to doxxing victims and toughen punishments on perpetrators. Victims should be encouraged to lodge civil suits to seek redress and protect their rights. Regulations should also be drafted to spell out more obligations for social media operators who should better police netizens' behaviors on their platforms according to law.
(The author is a deputy editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Daily.)