As Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is spearheading the new laws to criminalise doxing, it is in the realm of public interest to dox Mark over his own involvement in doxing. We expect the laws will not therefore be retrospective.
Reminded of Othello words: “If that the earth could teem with woman’s tears, each drop she falls would prove a crocodile,” we have discovered the AG was appointed to the AIJAC Review editorial board in 1998 when the journal doxed One Nation’s members and donors. It was justified at the time by the doyen of Israel government supporters in Australia Mark Leibler as being in the public interest.
Now the boot is apparently on the other foot amid Murdoch media hysteria as the Government moves to criminalise doxing following complaints by the Israel lobby, themselves heavily involved in doxing Palestine supporters.
For what it’s worth, this proposed legislation is dangerous and likely to be used selectively to persecute people whose views the Government does not like. It is inimical to a free press and freedom of speech. Traditionally, the media has doxed people as part of its business model – often unfairly but often also in the public interest. The standard has been that names are okay but addresses, emails and phone numbers off limits. That’s the way it should stay.
And if they want to police that on social media, perhaps hand it to ACMA (the media ‘regulator’) to enforce. They could do with some work.
And while we are on the subject of work, it is impressive the light-speed of this doxing proposal given the dithering by government in delivering effective laws to protect whistleblowers such as Julian Assange, David McBride, Tony Watson and Richard Boyle.
The Lendlease whistleblower Watson has just had his appeal to seek leave to the High Court rejected, his career and finances are in tatters while authorities have vacillated over Lendlease’s ‘double-dipping’ tax scam.
A thread by @JommyTee
THREAD
A funny thing happened on the way to the anti-doxing forum….
Zionist lobby and WhatsApp groups have sought to silence journalists and artists who hold a pro-Palestinian viewpoint. pic.twitter.com/z0RkKEQTxx
— Jommy Tee 🌐 (@jommy_tee) February 15, 2024
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.