Doxing is illegal in New York, though not under a law that uses the word. New York has no single doxing statute. Prosecutors instead charge the conduct under existing Penal Law provisions covering harassment, stalking, coercion, and the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images. Which charge applies depends on what the doxer did, what they intended, and what happened to the person on the receiving end. Penalties range from a few months in jail for a low-level misdemeanor to as much as seven years in state prison for first-degree stalking, and federal charges can push exposure much higher when the conduct crosses state lines.
Criminal Charges Prosecutors Use
Because the label “doxing” doesn’t appear in the Penal Law, the charging decision turns on the doxer’s intent and the harm caused. A handful of statutes do most of the work.
Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree
This is the charge that fits most straightforwardly when someone posts another person’s information online along with a threat. Under Penal Law § 240.30, it’s a crime to communicate a threat of physical harm or property damage by any electronic means, knowing the message will make the target reasonably fear for their safety.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 240.30 – Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree It’s a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to 364 days in jail2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and a fine of up to $1,000.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors
Stalking
When doxing forms part of a pattern aimed at frightening a specific person, stalking charges come into play. New York recognizes four degrees, and the exposure climbs quickly.
Fourth-degree stalking, the entry level, applies when someone intentionally engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person for no legitimate purpose, and that conduct is likely to cause the target reasonable fear for their health, safety, or property.4New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.45 – Stalking in the Fourth Degree It’s a Class B misdemeanor.
Third-degree stalking is a Class A misdemeanor. It reaches conduct likely to cause reasonable fear of physical injury, a sex offense, kidnapping, or death, and it also applies where the doxer has a recent stalking conviction or has targeted multiple victims in separate incidents.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.50 – Stalking in the Third Degree Maximum penalty: 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Second-degree stalking crosses into felony territory. It’s a Class E felony that can be reached, among other ways, by displaying or threatening to use a weapon during third-degree stalking conduct or by expanding the targeting to a larger group of victims. The prison exposure runs up to four years.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.55 – Stalking in the Second Degree7New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
First-degree stalking is a Class D felony, reserved for cases where the stalking causes physical injury to the victim or is accompanied by a sex offense. The maximum sentence is seven years in state prison.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.60 – Stalking in the First Degree
Coercion in the Third Degree
Some doxing takes the form of leverage: comply, or your information goes public. That fits Penal Law § 135.60, which makes it a crime to force someone to do (or not do) something they have a legal right to choose, by threatening to expose a secret or publicize information tending to subject them to hatred, contempt, or ridicule.9New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 135.60 – Coercion in the Third Degree A threat to release private photos unless the victim pays would fall here. Coercion in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Images
If the doxing involves sharing nude or sexual images without the subject’s consent, Penal Law § 245.15 supplies its own charge. It applies when a person intentionally disseminates an intimate image with intent to cause harm to the depicted person’s emotional, financial, or physical welfare, knowing (or having reason to know) that the person did not consent.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 245.15 – Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of an Intimate Image Digitally altered images, including AI-generated fakes using someone’s likeness, are covered. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
When Federal Charges Apply
Doxing rarely stays inside state lines. When the poster is out of state, or the platform is national, federal prosecutors have their own tools, and the penalties are substantially higher than state misdemeanor exposure.
The main statute is the federal cyberstalking law, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A. It criminalizes using an interactive computer service, with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate, to engage in conduct that places another person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261A – Stalking A baseline conviction carries up to five years in federal prison. If the victim suffers serious bodily injury, that ceiling rises to ten years; permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injury raises it to twenty; and if the victim dies, the sentence can reach life.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence
Swatting is charged separately under 18 U.S.C. § 1038, which reaches false or misleading reports of an imminent emergency. Its penalty structure tracks the cyberstalking tiers: up to five years, up to twenty if serious injury results, and up to life if someone dies.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
Suing the Doxer
Criminal charges aren’t the only route. A victim can sue the person who posted the information and seek money damages.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is the most common vehicle. It requires proof that the doxer’s conduct was extreme and outrageous, that they intended severe emotional distress (or acted recklessly toward that result), and that the victim actually suffered it. New York courts hold the “extreme and outrageous” bar high, but publishing a home address on a hostile forum with encouragement to harass can clear it. Recoverable damages include therapy costs, lost income, and pain and suffering. Filing deadline: one year from the harmful act.14New York State Unified Court System. Statute of Limitations Chart
Defamation is available where the doxer published something false about the victim that damaged their reputation. The one-year filing deadline applies here too.15New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 215 – Actions to Be Commenced Within One Year
For nonconsensual intimate images, Civil Rights Law § 52-b provides a private right of action against anyone who disseminates or threatens to disseminate such images with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm the depicted person. A court can order the images removed and award compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.16New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law 52-B – Private Right of Action for Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of an Intimate Image
Getting an Order of Protection
Where the priority is safety rather than damages, an order of protection is faster. In New York, these orders come out of Family Court, criminal court, or Supreme Court in a divorce case.17Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. Orders of Protection In a criminal case, the order is usually entered as a condition of the defendant’s release. In Family Court, you file the petition yourself. An order can bar the doxer from contacting you, your family, or your household, and can require them to stay away from your home and workplace. Violating it is a separate criminal offense.
Why You Usually Can’t Sue the Platform
Victims often ask whether they can sue the site that hosted the doxing post. In most cases, no. Under 47 U.S.C. § 230, platforms are not treated as the publisher of third-party content, which shields companies like Reddit, X, and Facebook from liability for user posts even when removal is slow.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 230 – Protection for Private Blocking and Screening of Offensive Material Section 230 does not protect the individual who posted the content, and it does not block federal criminal prosecution for stalking or harassment by computer.
What to Do If You’ve Been Doxed
The first hours matter. Posts get deleted, accounts vanish, and screenshots captured weeks later carry less evidentiary weight than ones taken while the content is live. Do the documentation before anything else.
Screenshot every post, message, and comment containing your information or urging others to act on it. Capture the full page with timestamps and the poster’s username or profile URL visible. Save the files somewhere you control rather than trusting the platform to keep the content up.
File a police report with your local precinct. Even if the responding officer isn’t familiar with doxing as a concept, the report creates an official record and gives prosecutors a starting point under the harassment, stalking, or coercion statutes above. If threats are involved or the poster is in another state, also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The IC3 form asks for your contact information, the suspect’s information if known, and a description of what happened.19Internet Crime Complaint Center. Frequently Asked Questions IC3 does not accept attachments or collect evidence directly, so keep the originals somewhere secure in case a federal agency asks later.
Report the content to the platform through its abuse or safety tools. Most major platforms have a specific category for sharing personal information without consent. Platform removal doesn’t affect criminal charges or a civil case; it just limits the ongoing harm while those move forward.