doxxing
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Twitch's off-service conduct policy finally covers doxxing and swatting
Starting today, Twitch will start suspending and banning users who doxx and swat others outside of its own platform.
It took a TikToker barely 30 minutes to doxx me
In 30 minutes or less, TikToker and Chicago-based server Kristen Sotakoun can probably find your birth date. She’s not a cybersecurity expert, despite what some of her followers suspect, but has found a hobby in what she calls “consensual doxxing.”
Kiwi Farms says someone hacked its website
It told users that their password, email and device IPs may have been compromised.
Cloudflare blocks trans harassment forum Kiwi Farms following escalation of 'targeted threats'
DNS and internet security provider Cloudflare has blocked Kiwi Farms, an infamous forum known for its online and real-world harassment campaigns.
Anonymous social app Yik Tak left users' precise locations exposed
The anonymous chat app Yik Yak had a flaw that let intruders get your precise location.
You can now ask Google to remove phone numbers from search results
Google now lets you ask to remove more personal info from search results, including phone numbers.
Meta's Oversight Board recommends stricter anti-doxxing policies
Meta has been asked to implement tougher anti-doxxing policies on Facebook and Instagram after requesting the Oversight Board's advice.
Facebook, Google and Twitter threaten to leave Hong Kong over privacy law changes
Facebook, Google and Twitter have reportedly warned the Hong Kong government they would drop services in the territory if data protection law changes take effect.
Google removes Maps targeting Thai dissidents and activists
Google has pulled two custom Maps creations used to target alleged opponents of Thailand's king.
Twitter bans right-wing activist group Project Veritas
Twitter has banned the activist group Project Veritas for allegedly sharing private information.
New Jersey law bars doxxing campaigns against judges, prosecutors and police
New Jersey's governor has signed Daniel's Law, a measure intended to thwart doxxing campaigns against judges, prosecutors and police.
Twitter bans financial site Zero Hedge over false coronavirus claims
It's not just Facebook and Google fighting false coronavirus information. Twitter has permanently banned financial site and conspiracy promoter Zero Hedge after it shared a story that not only made unsubstantiated claims that a Wuhan-based scientist created the new coronavirus as a weapon, but doxxed the researcher by publishing a name, photo, email and phone number. As BuzzFeed News discovered, Zero Hedge had suggested that readers "probably pay [the scientist] a visit" -- a thinly-veiled threat of violence.
Twitter says it's better at spotting abusive tweets than users
Twitter says it has achieved a major milestone in its attempts to improve the "health" of its platform. According to the company's most recent earnings report, 50 percent of abusive tweets removed this past quarter were pulled before a user even flagged the content. That's up from 38 percent in Q1. Twitter adds that it achieved the milestone on the back of improvements it made to its machine learning-based moderation algorithms, which in turn forward more tweets to the company's employees to scrutinize.
Two-thirds of online gamers in the US experience 'severe' harassment
It's no secret that online gaming can harbor toxic and abusive behavior. But a new survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says as many as many as two-thirds of US online gamers have experienced "severe" harassment. More than half of the respondents said they've been targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Nearly 30 percent claim they've been doxxed in an online game, and nearly a quarter of respondents say they've been exposed to white supremacist ideology.
YouTube declines to pull videos containing homophobic, racist attacks
YouTube is catching flak for an apparently inconsistent approach to tackling hate speech on its platform. The site has declined to remove videos from right-wing commentator Steven Crowder after Vox host Carlos Maza provided evidence of Crowder using targeted homophobic and racist speech over two years, including uses of offensive stereotypes. Maza noted that the attacks led to a "wall" of bigoted abuse on social networks, not to mention doxxing that led to hundreds of texts to his cellphone and a phone call. YouTube, however, claimed that Crowder hadn't violated any policies.
Twitter says new tools automatically flag 38 percent of abusive tweets
Twitter gave a status update on Tuesday on its plans to target online harassment, which, the company claims, appear to be working. The platform has made "meaningful progress" in moving towards its goal of cutting down on abuse of the platform, wrote Twitter Vice President Donald Hicks. Specifically, more abusive accounts are getting suspended than this time last year, abusive tweets are being automatically flagged for the first time and repeat offenders are being blocked from opening new accounts.
Former Senate IT worker pleads guilty to doxxing senators on Wikipedia
One former Senate worker is about to face harsh consequences for a doxxing campaign. Jackson Cosko has pleaded guilty to stealing multiple Senators' personal information from the Senate's network and publishing it on Wikipedia, including Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee. He admitted to being angry after he was fired from his systems administrator job at Sen. Maggie Hassan's office in May 2018, and conducted an "extensive computer fraud and data theft scheme" as revenge between July and October.
Google hopes to quell internal fighting with new rules
Google has long encouraged staff to share ideas with each other, but that's becoming toxic enough that the company is taking steps to rein things in. The Wall Street Journal has learned that Google has instituted new rules disciplining employees who attack colleagues, discriminate against them or participate in discussion that are "disruptive to a productive work environment." In other words, it's hoping to rein in the sort of chats and discussions that led to James Damore's anti-diversity memo, his firing and the subsequent lawsuits.
Senators introduce bill to criminalize revenge porn
Senators have introduced a bill today which, if passed, would establish federal criminal liability for those sharing revenge porn. The bill, Ending Nonconsensual Online User Graphic Harassment (ENOUGH) Act of 2017, will address what Congressperson Jackie Speier calls a "gaping hole in our legal system".
After Las Vegas shooting, Facebook and Google get the news wrong again
The worst mass shooting in modern US history took place last night in Las Vegas, where a gunman killed at least 58 people and injured more than 515 others, according to the latest reports. Not long after the unfortunate event, Facebook and Google began populating news stories on their respective platforms, as they often do. And, in what's become a problematic trend, some of the articles being highlighted and distributed to millions of people were from unreliable sources. This time, among them were a trolling thread on internet forum board 4chan and a completely false story from a far-right conspiracy website.
