Georgia could soon make ‘doxxing’ a crime

Albers was among a group of public officials victimized in a December 2023 series of “swatting” attacks where someone calls 911 and reports an emergency, such as a murder or kidnapping, at the victim’s address in hopes of generating an armed response from police.

Albers said he credits part of the rise in animosity to people “airing out their grievances” on social media instead of confronting people face-to-face.

He said online content and the news media have polarized the country and he believes this proposal can help change that.

“We’re at this time in America where the pendulum needs to shift back to rational, common-sense professionalism,” Albers said.

Under the proposal, doxxing is defined as maliciously publicizing private or identifying information online that would cause the victim to be in fear of mental or physical danger, monetary loss or other significant life disruptions. The bill, which has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would allow a victim of doxxing to sue the perpetrator and seek damages in court.

A similar measure sponsored by Sen. Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, failed to pass the Senate last session. However, another bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Clint Dixon of Duluth, did pass, increasing penalties for first-time offenders who engaged in swatting.

On Christmas Day 2023, nine police officers responded to Dixon’s Buford home after a caller said the state senator killed his wife and was holding someone else hostage. Dixon was watching football with his wife and told police the call was a hoax.

A day after the call, Dixon was targeted again. This time, a caller told law enforcement that he shot a woman and planned to detonate a bomb in the house. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, was targeted that same day.

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Kirkpatrick recalled stepping outside on her patio after her neighbor notified her that police carrying long rifles were outside her house. She said the callers notified 911 operators that there was a hostage being held inside Kirkpatrick’s kitchen.

And after police approached her, she told them that nothing was happening and that her husband was napping.

“We’re living in a dangerous world, and I think this bill would help with that,” Kirkpatrick said.

Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia charged Thomasz Szabo, 26, of Romania and Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, of Serbia, with 34 felonies for a series of hoax threats made over several years. Those two men were believed to be behind the scheme targeting Albers, Dixon, Kirkpatrick and several other lawmakers.

Enrique Armijo, a professor and First Amendment expert at Elon University School of Law, acknowledged the concern for the rise in threats against public officials but said he’s skeptical that Georgia’s law and other state doxxing laws would hold up under the First Amendment.

“The way out of that problem is not to basically criminalize true speech about government officials,” Armijo said.

Instances of swatting have occurred against public officials across the country, but how states are handling the rise varies. Some state laws only protect specific groups of people, such as elected officials or police, Armijo said.

But that’s not the only change lawmakers are seeking this year to protect their privacy. A proposed change to Georgia’s campaign finance reporting system would block home addresses of elected officials and candidates from public disclosure.