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postgraduate thesis: The process and strategy of doxing and impacts on victims
Title | The process and strategy of doxing and impacts on victims |
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Authors | |
Issue Date | 2023 |
Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
Citation | Chui, S. N. E. [徐思諾], Lam, K. K. K. [林嘉琦], Lam, K. H. R. [林均浩], Ngan, W. C. D. [顏榮銓], So, L. W. R. [蘇樂穎]. (2023). The process and strategy of doxing and impacts on victims. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. |
Abstract | Cyberbullying involves the misuse and abuse of information and technology as well as one’s personal information with the intention to bring harm to someone and lead to a variety of negative psychological consequences on victims and people around them (Chen, M., Cheung, A. and Chan, K., 2019). Doxing, as a form of cyberbullying, refers to the act of publicly disclosing an individual’s personal information without their consent (PCPD, 2021). Doxing can be used as a tool to harass, intimidate and bring threats to victims. It has been used in different contexts and occasions including political campaigns, social movements and blame on the internet and it may bring serious consequences to the victims in terms of body and mental harm, chronic trauma and adverse effects on the victims as well as their families (Chen, Q., Chan, K. L., & Cheung, A. S. Y., 2018). Social media acts as a catalyst for doxing activities facilitating wide and speedy dissemination of personal information via the internet (Yudiana, T. C., Rosadi, S. D., & Priowirjanto, E. S., 2022). Unauthorised disclosure of personal information on social media results in criticism towards the administrators of those social media platforms. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stated that everyone shall have the right of freedom of expression but should be given the respect of personal privacy provided by the law with legitimate justification (The United Nations, 1976).
Concerns over local cyberbullying incidents as well as doxing activities increased in Hong Kong, particularly during the umbrella movement and the large-scale social movement in 2019. Official statistics show that the victims are concentrated in several occupations, such as law enforcement agencies under the command of the Security Bureau, government officials and civil servants (PCPD, 2020), and they are more likely to become the victims of doxing activities. Doxing, which involved unauthorised activities to disclose one’s personal information in the virtual world, was reportedly experienced by the majority of the victims in the law enforcement agencies (HKPF, 2019; PCPD, 2021). Sometimes their significant others including family members and close friends also became the targets of doxer easily. (MacAllister, J. M., 2016). In order to deal with the doxing problem and minimise the harm brought to the victims, the legislative council passed The Personal Data (Privacy)(Amendment) Ordinance 2021 in October 2021.
In this research, we collected 82 questionnaires and 5 semi-structured interviews. Our findings demonstrated that the victim experiences a series of negative consequences and the behaviour and intention of the doxer can be explained by the differential association theory (Edwin Sutherland, 1939) and delegitimization (Douglas, D., 2016). This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that many people are participating in online crime with the prevalence of internet users but there is limited supervision by the social media administrators and the legislative branch of the government. Moreover, personal information of internet users can easily be found as they are exposed online without sufficient awareness to protect their privacy. On the other hand, occupation is one of the main reasons that the law enforcement agencies become the target of doxer and the doxers would like to achieve some political aims and goals by doxing activities including threatening and delegitimization. At the end, we provide some suggestions in terms of the government’s anti-cyberbullying regulations and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) amendment ordinance as well as what prevention measures social media administrators and individuals can take.
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Degree | Master of Social Sciences |
Subject | Doxing |
Dept/Program | Criminology |
Persistent Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/352882 |
DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Chui, Sze Nok Emily | - |
dc.contributor.author | 徐思諾 | - |
dc.contributor.author | Lam, Ka Kei Kelly | - |
dc.contributor.author | 林嘉琦 | - |
dc.contributor.author | Lam, Kwan Ho Regal | - |
dc.contributor.author | 林均浩 | - |
dc.contributor.author | Ngan, Wing Chuen Dennis | - |
dc.contributor.author | 顏榮銓 | - |
dc.contributor.author | So, Lok Wing Ring | - |
dc.contributor.author | 蘇樂穎 | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-08T06:46:52Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2025-01-08T06:46:52Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2023 | - |
dc.identifier.citation | Chui, S. N. E. [徐思諾], Lam, K. K. K. [林嘉琦], Lam, K. H. R. [林均浩], Ngan, W. C. D. [顏榮銓], So, L. W. R. [蘇樂穎]. (2023). The process and strategy of doxing and impacts on victims. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. | - |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/352882 | - |
dc.description.abstract | Cyberbullying involves the misuse and abuse of information and technology as well as one’s personal information with the intention to bring harm to someone and lead to a variety of negative psychological consequences on victims and people around them (Chen, M., Cheung, A. and Chan, K., 2019). Doxing, as a form of cyberbullying, refers to the act of publicly disclosing an individual’s personal information without their consent (PCPD, 2021). Doxing can be used as a tool to harass, intimidate and bring threats to victims. It has been used in different contexts and occasions including political campaigns, social movements and blame on the internet and it may bring serious consequences to the victims in terms of body and mental harm, chronic trauma and adverse effects on the victims as well as their families (Chen, Q., Chan, K. L., & Cheung, A. S. Y., 2018). Social media acts as a catalyst for doxing activities facilitating wide and speedy dissemination of personal information via the internet (Yudiana, T. C., Rosadi, S. D., & Priowirjanto, E. S., 2022). Unauthorised disclosure of personal information on social media results in criticism towards the administrators of those social media platforms. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stated that everyone shall have the right of freedom of expression but should be given the respect of personal privacy provided by the law with legitimate justification (The United Nations, 1976). Concerns over local cyberbullying incidents as well as doxing activities increased in Hong Kong, particularly during the umbrella movement and the large-scale social movement in 2019. Official statistics show that the victims are concentrated in several occupations, such as law enforcement agencies under the command of the Security Bureau, government officials and civil servants (PCPD, 2020), and they are more likely to become the victims of doxing activities. Doxing, which involved unauthorised activities to disclose one’s personal information in the virtual world, was reportedly experienced by the majority of the victims in the law enforcement agencies (HKPF, 2019; PCPD, 2021). Sometimes their significant others including family members and close friends also became the targets of doxer easily. (MacAllister, J. M., 2016). In order to deal with the doxing problem and minimise the harm brought to the victims, the legislative council passed The Personal Data (Privacy)(Amendment) Ordinance 2021 in October 2021. In this research, we collected 82 questionnaires and 5 semi-structured interviews. Our findings demonstrated that the victim experiences a series of negative consequences and the behaviour and intention of the doxer can be explained by the differential association theory (Edwin Sutherland, 1939) and delegitimization (Douglas, D., 2016). This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that many people are participating in online crime with the prevalence of internet users but there is limited supervision by the social media administrators and the legislative branch of the government. Moreover, personal information of internet users can easily be found as they are exposed online without sufficient awareness to protect their privacy. On the other hand, occupation is one of the main reasons that the law enforcement agencies become the target of doxer and the doxers would like to achieve some political aims and goals by doxing activities including threatening and delegitimization. At the end, we provide some suggestions in terms of the government’s anti-cyberbullying regulations and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) amendment ordinance as well as what prevention measures social media administrators and individuals can take. | - |
dc.language | eng | - |
dc.publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) | - |
dc.relation.ispartof | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) | - |
dc.rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works. | - |
dc.rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. | - |
dc.subject.lcsh | Doxing | - |
dc.title | The process and strategy of doxing and impacts on victims | - |
dc.type | PG_Thesis | - |
dc.description.thesisname | Master of Social Sciences | - |
dc.description.thesislevel | Master | - |
dc.description.thesisdiscipline | Criminology | - |
dc.description.nature | published_or_final_version | - |
dc.date.hkucongregation | 2023 | - |
dc.identifier.mmsid | 991044884610203414 | - |