# Understanding the Doxing Threat Assessment Act

This bill asks the Department of Homeland Security to create a detailed report about how terrorists and foreign governments use online harassment and "doxing" as weapons. Doxing is when someone publishes your personal information—like your home address, phone number, or social security number—online without permission, usually to threaten, intimidate, or endanger you. The bill recognizes that hostile actors are increasingly using this tactic as part of their operations, and the government needs to understand the threat better.

The Department of Homeland Security has six months to develop this assessment and share it with Congress. The report needs to cover several key areas: what tactics and methods terrorists and foreign adversaries are currently using for cyber harassment, examples of real incidents that have already happened, potential new threats that could emerge, and warning signs that law enforcement should watch for. The department also has to coordinate with its privacy and civil rights offices to make sure the assessment respects people's constitutional protections. Within 30 days of sending it to Congress, the department must publish a version of the report on its website so the public can see it.

The practical impact of this bill is fairly limited—it's essentially a fact-finding and information-sharing exercise rather than a new law that creates crimes or restrictions. The main beneficiaries would be state and local police departments, who will receive this intelligence through the government's fusion centers (information-sharing networks). This could help law enforcement recognize when online harassment campaigns might be connected to terrorist plots or foreign interference operations. The bill includes important safeguards to ensure the assessment doesn't infringe on free speech or religious expression, and it clarifies that nothing in the bill gives the government new powers beyond what already exists.

Doxing Threat Assessment Act

Wasserman Schultz, Debbie

Doxing Threat Assessment Act This bill requires the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&amp;A) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and disseminate a threat assessment regarding the use of cyber harassment, including doxing, by terrorists and foreign malicious actors. Doxing means knowingly publishing the personally identifiable information of another individual, without the individual's consent and with intent to <ul> <li>threaten, intimidate, harass, or stalk any person; </li> <li>facilitate another to threaten, intimidate, harass, or stalk any person;</li> <li>incite or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against any person; or</li> <li>place any person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.</li> </ul> The threat assessment (1) shall be developed in coordination with the DHS Privacy Office and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and (2) may be informed by existing products. I&amp;A shall, consistent with the protection of classified and confidential unclassified information (1) disseminate the threat assessment with state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials; and (2) ensure that a version of the assessment is published on the DHS website within 30 days of dissemination to Congress.