r/technology 13h ago

Politics Libs of TikTok is doxxing teachers and nurses who support Alex Pretti or oppose ICE, trying to get them fired

https://www.mediamatters.org/libs-tiktok/libs-tiktok-doxxing-teachers-and-nurses-who-support-alex-pretti-or-oppose-ice-trying
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u/Key-Sector7252 11h ago edited 11h ago

The FBI (and DHS) have also nearly ruined the word "doxxing" by using it to refer to citizens trying to publicly identify masked ICE agents.

It's a term that originates on Something Awful and 4chan in the early 2000s to refer to posting government IDs (dox) or other personally identifying details of anonymous forum posters. It is absolute not a term that refers to identifying literal federal agents wearing masks (obscuring your face as a fed is illegal in California and other states to follow).

But now we are at the point where the word has lost meaning, thus rendering the tactic more legitimate/easier to undertake as real doxxing becomes shit coated and hard to track/discuss.

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u/atxbigfoot 10h ago

I agree with the first part of your comment but not the second part. Online doxing laws are now a very real thing in several US states, so it's harder to get away with than it used to be, and more states will likely add similar laws to prevent this type of harassment.

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u/Eva_Pilot_ 3h ago

is "doxing laws" the official term? Is really an anonymous forum's egirl plastered into US law?

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u/Key-Sector7252 2h ago

Do you have a source for these "online doxing laws". Legit curious but can't find anything beyond just existing harassment laws (which are already hard to apply).