Doxing is the act of publically publishing personal information about a person without their permission. The information can be such things as a person’s name, home address, where he works, financial records, cell phone number, financial information, social security number, and more. Doxing is a tool often used by social justice warriors to punish and harm someone they disagree with, don’t like, or who is on the wrong side of political correctness.

Doxing: “to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge.”  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dox

There is a variety of means by which people can gain information in order to dox someone. Social media is a treasure trove of personal information, preferences, photos, etc. People who dox sometimes stalk an individual online to gain information. There are other means such as paid services to find out about a person’s criminal history, family relationships, what vehicles they own, and more. Sometimes they hack a person’s computer and gain passwords, bank account information, and medical records. That is why it is best not to disclose too much on the web and make sure you have good anti-spyware, anti-malware, and anti-phishing software installed.  I also recommend you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). I use VPN unlimited from keepsolid.com.

Doxing is a serious threat and can result in serious harm.

Doxing and Getting Swatted

Swatting is when a person anonymously calls up a police station and makes a statement that will cause the police to arrive in mass at someone’s home.

I am a public figure. My face and name are all over the Internet. CARM has had millions of visitors over the years, and combined with my radio show, I’ve upset a lot of people by defending Christian orthodoxy and denouncing atheism, Islam, Mormonism, and more. I have been threatened with lawsuits, harm to my family, and attacks on the website.  I’ve been followed in traffic, and there have been strange sounds at night at my house. In 2019, I was swatted.

I found out after the fact that someone called up the police department in my city and said, “My name is Matt Slick, and I just shot and killed my wife.”  To the best of my recollection, the police said that the person also provided my home address. The result was, to say the least, memorable. This is what happened.

I received a phone call from the police department asking me to come outside. Upon opening the front door, I could see several cop cars and 10 or so officers with guns drawn all pointing at me. They told me to put my phone down and raise my hands. I complied without question. They then ordered me to walk towards them. They told me to stop, turn around and face away from them. I was told to walk backward. I did this until I reached them, whereupon I was handcuffed. They asked me where my wife was. I said she was in the house. They wanted her to come out, but I told them she couldn’t because she was recovering from open-heart surgery and recent gallbladder surgery. By then, I knew I’d been swatted. Anyway, I told them they would have to go in and clear the house. They did, and everything worked out. I want to say that the police were very professional and though the event was serious, I wasn’t worried.

I view this swatting event as an attempt on my life since people have been killed while being swatted. But this is part of the price I have to pay as a Christian who defends the faith.

I’m bringing this up because the swatting was the result of a form of doxing. The criminal who had me swatted knew what city I lived in, my address, that I was married, etc.

Is Doxing Illegal?

Doxing is a relatively new phenomenon, and the laws need to catch up to it. But, for the most part doxing is illegal. There are different laws in different states and countries related to the disclosure of someone’s personal information. So, it’s difficult to say exactly what is and is not legal in doxing in all instances. But, legislation will undoubtedly catch up.