New laws to target the leaking of people’s identifying information

The PM has pledged to bring forward legislation criminalising doxxing after more than 600 Jewish creatives had their details leaked.

Jewish leaders have welcomed Anthony Albanese’s commitment to swiftly push through laws to criminalise doxxing.

Anthony Albanese has pledged to bring forward legislation criminalising doxxing after more than 600 Jewish creatives had their details leaked, amid warnings the deliberate online targeting and harassment of Australian Jews was akin to “digital terrorism.”

The Prime Minister also on Monday expressed “very deep concerns about the idea of an Israeli military operation” in the Southern Gaza city of Rafah where more than one million people are sheltering.

Responding to the threatened ground invasion by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined with US President Joe Biden in urging Israel to protect innocent civilians.

“Israel must listen to the international community,” Mr Albanese told 2GB radio. “I have no time for Hamas. I unequivocally oppose the terrorist acts that occurred on October 7, but we cannot have disregard for innocent life.

“There are more than a million civilians who are sheltering in and around Rafah. Israel has a responsibility, as a democratic nat­ion, to show care in relation to these innocent civilians.”

Appearing before a Senate estimates hearing on Monday, Home Affairs officials were unable to say why it took nearly four months for the government to declare the October 7 massacre of Israelis an act of terrorism.

Mr Albanese did not formally designate the attack as a terrorist act until February 2. The delayed declaration slowed financial assistance through the Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment under the Social Security Act for Australian Jews who lost loved ones in the attack.

A departmental official said Home Affairs needed to consult with Foreign Affairs before providing advice to Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, who then made a submission to the Prime Minister.

Jewish leaders welcomed Mr Albanese’s commitment to swiftly push through laws to criminalise doxxing – the malicious publication of people’s identifying information – saying existing laws had failed to protect hundreds of people from “co-ordinated and malicious” attacks.

Mr Albanese said he had directed Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to bring forward the new laws in response to the Privacy Act review, and expressed concern about a rise in anti-Semitism following Hamas’s massacre of Israelis on October 7.

“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 sectors, who had a WhatsApp group ... to provide support for each other because of the rise in anti-Semitism that we’ve seen,” Mr Albanese said. “What we’ve seen is them being targeted.

“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.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said: “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.”

A coalition of federal parliamentarians that includes independent MPs Allegra Spender and Zoe Daniel, Coalition MP Julian Leeser and Labor MP Josh Burns has been calling on Mr Albanese to criminalise doxxing and consider further protections.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich said the deliberate online targeting and harassment of Australian Jews was akin to “digital terrorism” that had now reached fever pitch, and it was imperative that governments stepped in to protect victims.

“It is the duty of our nation’s leader to protect every community from racism and malicious vilification and this announcement is to be commended,” he told The Australian.

“The Jewish community, since October 7, 2023, has felt very alone and under siege; with anti-Semitism spiralling out of control, this law is urgently needed.”

Home Affairs on Monday said it had approved visas for more than 2275 Palestinians to travel to Australia since October 7. There were 2127 visitor visas and 148 migration and temporary visas approved for Palestinians after the attack until December 31.

A Home Affairs official said some of the visa applications were approved within an hour, for applicants who were “well known to us”. He said 160 applications had been rejected in the same period.

The department prioritised visas for applicants who were already on track to be approved, the official said.

Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1200 Israelis on October 7 and took 250 hostages back to Gaza.

With Israel’s offensive against Hamas now approaching a critical stage, Senator Wong said Israel must exercise special care in relation to civilians: “Not doing so would have devastating consequences … and cause serious harm to Israel’s own interests.”

What is doxxing?

Doxxing is the malicious collection or publication of private information using the internet. It is usually done as an act of retaliation, though mass doxxing is often a consequence of data breaches.

Data is commonly aggregated from social media profiles, online mentions, public databases, or hacking. That data can then be used to ‘name and shame’ a victim, coerce them or target them personally.

What are Australia’s doxxing laws?

Current Australian doxxing law is limited and can be hard to enforce, as the data released is already publicly available.

However, the Commonwealth Criminal Code can be used to prosecute. Section 474.17 makes it an offence to menace, harass or offend someone using a carriage service, which online services qualify as. This section of the criminal code was legislated in 2005 however, and has not been updated since.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is currently in discussions with the eSafety Commissioner to place stricter penalties specifically on the release of private information, which will sit under the Privacy Act.