Doxing is not named as its own crime in Georgia, but yes, doxing can be illegal in Georgia when it is done to harass, threaten, or intimidate someone. Prosecutors bring charges under existing statutes covering stalking, harassing communications, terroristic threats, computer crimes, and identity fraud. Victims can also sue for money damages in civil court and ask a judge for a protective order.
Criminal Laws That Reach Doxing in Georgia
Which charges apply depends on how the information was gathered, what was published, and what the person posting it intended. Several of these offenses are felonies.
Stalking
Georgia’s stalking statute is the closest fit for most doxing cases. A person commits stalking by following, surveilling, or contacting someone without consent for the purpose of harassing and intimidating them, meaning a deliberate pattern of conduct that causes emotional distress by putting the target in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of immediate family.1Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-5-90 – Stalking; Psychological Evaluation
The statute also contains what functions as a doxing-specific provision. If a person already subject to a protective order, restraining order, or similar court restriction electronically publishes another person’s photo, name, address, or phone number, knowing the post will cause others to harass or intimidate the target, that publication is itself stalking.1Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-5-90 – Stalking; Psychological Evaluation The law recognizes that broadcasting personal details to mobilize a crowd is a form of stalking, not just a warm-up to it.
A first stalking offense is a misdemeanor. A second or later conviction is a felony carrying one to ten years in prison.1Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-5-90 – Stalking; Psychological Evaluation
Harassing Communications
Georgia separately criminalizes electronic harassment. Repeatedly contacting someone by phone, email, text, or any other electronic means to harass, threaten, or intimidate them or their family is a misdemeanor, as is threatening bodily harm through those channels. The statute expressly does not apply to constitutionally protected speech.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-11-39.1 – Harassing Communications
This charge fits when the doxer is contacting the victim directly alongside publishing their information, or when posting personal details across multiple platforms amounts to repeated electronic contact meant to intimidate.
Terroristic Threats
When doxing carries an explicit or implied threat of violence, Georgia’s terroristic threats law applies. Threatening to commit any violent crime in a manner meant to terrorize another person or cause public panic is a criminal offense.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-11-37 – Terroristic Threats and Acts Posting a home address with language suggesting others should show up can cross this line even without a direct threat by the poster.
Penalties scale with the harm. A basic terroristic threat is a misdemeanor. A threat involving death is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine. If the threat results in serious physical injury, the sentence rises to five to forty years and a fine up to $250,000.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-11-37 – Terroristic Threats and Acts
Computer Invasion of Privacy
If the doxer obtained the information by hacking into accounts, devices, or profiles, Georgia’s computer crimes law adds serious exposure. Using a computer or network to examine another person’s employment, medical, financial, salary, credit, or other personal data without authorization is classified as computer invasion of privacy. A conviction can bring a fine up to $50,000, up to 15 years in prison, or both.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-9-93 – Computer Crimes Defined That is one of the heaviest penalties available for doxing-related conduct in Georgia.
Identity Fraud
When someone uses the exposed information to impersonate the victim or facilitate fraud, identity fraud charges are available. Willfully and fraudulently using or possessing another person’s identifying information without authorization is a felony.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-9-121 – Elements of Offense A first conviction carries one to ten years in prison and a fine up to $100,000, with steeper penalties for repeat offenses. This is what a prosecutor reaches for when a doxer creates fake accounts in the victim’s name or signs them up for services.
Eavesdropping and Surveillance
If the doxed information was gathered by secretly recording conversations or surveilling someone in a private place, Georgia’s invasion of privacy statute applies. Secretly recording or intercepting private conversations, and using any device to observe, photograph, or record activities in a private place without consent, is prohibited.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-11-62 – Eavesdropping, Surveillance, or Intercepting Communication Which Invades Privacy of Another; Divulging Private Message A violation is a felony punishable by one to five years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-11-69 – Penalty for Violations of Part
When Federal Cyberstalking Law Applies
Almost any online activity crosses state lines, which brings federal law into play. The federal stalking statute makes it a crime to use email, social media, or any electronic communication in interstate commerce to engage in a course of conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
A conviction carries up to five years in prison in most cases, up to ten years if serious bodily injury results, up to twenty years for permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injury, and life imprisonment if the victim dies. Violating a protective order while cyberstalking triggers a mandatory minimum of one year in prison.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence Federal prosecutors tend to move in when doxing produces real-world violence or when the case is difficult for one state to handle alone.
Civil Lawsuits Against a Doxer
Criminal charges depend on law enforcement. A civil suit puts the case in the victim’s hands and can produce money damages.
Invasion of Privacy
Georgia recognizes public disclosure of private facts, which targets publicizing private information that a reasonable person would find highly offensive, and intrusion upon seclusion, which targets an unreasonable and offensive intrusion into another person’s private affairs even without physical trespass.10Without My Consent. Georgia: Common Law One theory targets publication; the other targets how the information was obtained. Information that is already genuinely public is harder to sue over, even when aggregating it creates a real safety risk. The strongest claims involve information the victim actively tried to keep private.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
This claim applies when the conduct is so extreme and outrageous that it causes severe emotional harm. Georgia courts set a high bar for “outrageous.” Publishing a home address alongside threats, or releasing private information to a hostile audience knowing violence could follow, has a better shot at clearing it than simply sharing an email. The distress itself has to be severe and documented. Medical records, therapy notes, or a psychological evaluation tying the distress to the incident strengthen the case. Damages for purely emotional injury are left to the jury under Georgia law.11Justia Law. Georgia Code 51-12-6 – Damages for Injury to Peace, Happiness, or Feelings
Defamation
Doxing posts often include editorializing, false accusations, or misleading framing. A defamation claim requires proof that a false statement was communicated to at least one other person and damaged the victim’s reputation. Damages can cover both economic losses, like lost income or business, and non-economic harm, like emotional distress and social humiliation.
Protective Orders
Stalking victims can petition a Georgia court for a restraining order. The petition has to describe specific facts showing that stalking has occurred and is likely to continue. If the court finds probable cause, it can issue an emergency order immediately, before the other party is heard.12Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-5-94 – Restraining Orders
The order can direct the respondent to stop all contact, cease harassing conduct, and stay away from the victim. The court can also award attorney’s fees and order psychiatric or psychological treatment.12Justia Law. Georgia Code 16-5-94 – Restraining Orders Continuing to publish someone’s personal information after a protective order is in place elevates the conduct to stalking on its own under the electronic-publication provision, and it triggers the federal mandatory minimum if the case crosses state lines.
What to Do If You Have Been Doxed
If your information is already circulating, act quickly.
- Preserve everything. Screenshot every post, message, and comment before the doxer can delete it. Save URLs, timestamps, usernames, and any associated threats. Evidence disappears fast online, and you need it for both criminal reports and civil claims.
- Report to the platform. Major sites have channels for harassment and doxxing that violate their community standards. Identify yourself, explain what information is private, and describe the harm.
- Contact the web hosting service. If the content sits on a personal website, look up the host and report the content under the acceptable use policy.
- File a police report. Bring your preserved evidence to your local police department. A formal report creates an official record that supports both criminal prosecution and any later civil suit.
- Report to the FBI. If the doxing involves interstate communication, threats, or significant financial harm, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center. IC3 accepts reports even when you are not sure your situation qualifies.13Internet Crime Complaint Center. IC3 Home Page
- Secure your accounts. Change passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, and review privacy settings everywhere. If a compromised account was the source, this is the only way to stop the bleeding.
- Request removal from data brokers. People-search sites are frequent sources for home addresses, phone numbers, and family connections. Each broker has its own opt-out process, and information tends to reappear over time.
Consider talking to an attorney early. A lawyer can send a cease-and-desist letter, file for a protective order, and advise whether your facts support both criminal charges and a civil suit. Many attorneys who handle internet harassment cases offer free initial consultations.
Pending Legislation
Georgia legislators have moved toward a dedicated doxing statute. Senate Bill 27, introduced in the 2025-2026 session as the “Georgia Anti-Doxxing Act,” would amend the invasion-of-privacy provisions to add criminal penalties for intentionally posting someone’s identifying information without consent, particularly when done with reckless disregard for the risk of stalking, serious injury, or significant economic or emotional harm. Until a bill like it becomes law, prosecutors continue to work with the statutes described above.