Georgia anti-doxxing bill criticized as threat to free speech

• A new bill in Georgia aims to punish those who dox others or release their private information with malicious intent. One state senator called the act of doxxing “literally an online version of stalking.”

• Critics, including defense attorney Andrew Fleishman, argue the bill poses “serious” First Amendment issues. They cite its broad language and low financial threshold, which could criminalize even minor speech acts.
• The bill passed the Georgia Senate nearly unanimously on March 6 and awaits approval in the House of Representatives before heading to the governor for consideration.

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Legislation in Georgia aims to punish those who release private information of others with malicious intent. However, critics say the bill’s broad language could ensnare people into felonies.

Senate Bill 27, if enacted, would classify forms of doxxing –– the act of maliciously publishing someone’s personal identifying information without their consent –– as a criminal offense with a sentence of up to one year in prison.

“This causes people significant harm, both mentally as well as physically,” Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, told a committee on March 12. “It’s literally an online version of stalking.” 

According to the bill, information prohibited from sharing would include “a person’s identity, residence, location, or employer,” as well as other information like biometric data. If the doxxing leads to a “significant life disruption,” the charges could be felonies –– a potential or actual loss of more than $500 would qualify.

First Amendment questions

Defense attorney Andrew Fleischman testified against the bill, saying it fails a legal flowchart of First Amendment protections.

“This law has serious First Amendment problems, and it really doesn’t fix the issue,” he said. “This law is a content-based restriction on speech because it forbids you from using my name without my consent in a way that could cause me economic harm.”

Fleischman said the $500 “intent bar” is too low to qualify as a crime in the bill.

“If you go to the Golden Corral and say ‘Cindy at the Golden Corral is a terrible waitress,’ well, you’ve given personally identifying information under the statute, that’s her name,” Fleischman argued. “Could it cause her mental anguish or economic harm? It could. She could get fired from her job for that. This is an unbelievably broad statute.”

He added that anti-doxxing statutes have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The bill passed the Senate by a near-unanimous vote on March 6. It must do the same in the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the governor for consideration.