Chhavideep Singh
Source: Article 19
Doxing is an act of revealing private information about oneself or others or an organisation through the internet. Hackers and vigilantes are typically involved in doxing public and private figures regularly for potential hacking purposes and it is a very crucial matter for any social media platform.
When we speak of social media, Facebook Inc. pops right up in our minds because it is the major social media conglomerate and the most popular social media brands in the industry and matters like doxing are very significant for the company and its future.
Having said that, according to recent reports, Facebook has openly asked for help from its Oversight Board in shaping its new doxing policy and this clearly means that Facebook is trying to make the best possible policy that targets all aspects because it is a very difficult and crucial matter at hand.
As mentioned in a report by Engadget, this is the first time that the social media conglomerate has asked for help from its Oversight Board in matters of making a policy. You can now imagine the depth of the situation that Facebook is in with its new doxing policy.
In a statement, Facebook says that it considers the policy to be “difficult and significant” and thus, it is asking its Oversight Board for help.
According to reports, the Oversight Board explains that Facebook is asking for its guidance on shaping a policy that decides what private information should be publicly available on Facebook, meaning what information is allowed to be posted on the social media platform. At the current moment, Facebook’s policy prohibits its users from sharing personally identifiable information about themselves or others, as mentioned in a report by Engadget. This means that sharing pictures of someone else’s house or your own personal property is not allowed because it increases the chances of those users being doxed and can easily be targeted for harassment. Hence, the company says that it requires external help in defining a new policy related to this matter of publicly available personally identifiable information.
Furthermore, the Oversight Board has recently announced to be asking for public feedback on the matter as they are open to new and useful suggestions. The Public comment section will be active and open till July 9th, so if you think you have some opinions and ideas on how the big technology giant can handle such a sensitive issue, you can write to Facebook’s Oversight Board as they are taking public feedback into consideration.