Social Media Meets Public Records – The rise of “Doxxing”

As county courthouses and governmental agencies continue to modernize and digitize public records, information that was once laborious to obtain is only a few mouse clicks away.  The ease of obtaining these records combined with social media ubiquitous distribution points makes for an unforeseen challenge to balance misuse of information with access to public records.   Known as “Doxxing”, the distribution of public information in order to harass or shame someone has become more and more prevalent, as was recently reported by Pro Publica.

Used properly, the exposure of publicly available information can be a powerful investigative reporting tool.  However broad distribution of public information without the benefit of professional journalists, editorial boards and legal counsel can be dangerous, malicious and counterproductive to open and transparent government.  If social media cannot find a way to balance open communication with responsible usage by its subscribers then other draconian measures might be taken by governments to lock down online access to public documents.

Regulating speech is a slippery slope in the world of social media, but technology executives need to recognize that inappropriate behavior will lead to sweeping legislation that can lead to major changes on how the public can access information.   Policing Facebook and Twitter usage is not as difficult as technology executives seem to make it – have a Facebook or Twitter account is not a right, it’s privilege that can be revoked pursuant to the terms of a license agreement.  However if these firms lack controls that allow them to police their users, States will step in a begin ratcheting back open access to government top prevent behavior that should have been caught by the social media firms themselves.