Georgia CommonsSenate · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 27: Stalking; offense of doxxing; penalties; protective order; provide
Last action March 19, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
A Georgia Senate bill would create new crimes of doxing and aggravated doxing, making it illegal to post someone's address, phone number, or other identifying information with intent or reckless disregard to cause fear or harm.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law currently has no specific crime for publicly posting someone's private identifying information, such as their home address, employer, or phone number, in a way meant to scare or harm them. This bill, called the Georgia Anti-Doxing Act, adds a new section to the state's invasion of privacy laws to fill that gap. It creates two new crimes. Doxing applies when someone posts a person's personally identifiable information without consent and recklessly disregards whether it could cause fear of stalking, injury, or death, or cause serious economic harm or emotional distress. Aggravated doxing applies when someone does the same thing with actual intent to cause that harm, and the harm actually occurs. The bill sets penalties, exempts activity like reporting crimes to police or engaging in protected speech, and would take effect July 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed after that date.
What the bill does
- Creates a new misdemeanor crime of doxing for posting someone's personal information with reckless disregard that it may cause fear of stalking, injury, death, economic harm, or emotional distress.
- Makes a second or later doxing conviction a felony punishable by one to two years in prison and a fine of at least $5,000.
- Creates a separate felony crime of aggravated doxing for posting someone's information with actual intent to cause that harm, punishable by two to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
- Increases aggravated doxing penalties to five to ten years and a $10,000 fine for a second or later conviction, and applies party-to-a-crime liability if the victim suffers serious injury or death.
- Exempts reporting crimes to law enforcement, reporting suspected unlawful conduct, and constitutionally protected speech, assembly, or petition activity from prosecution.
- Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.
Who it affects
Georgians who post other people's personal information online or through text and email, potential victims of doxing including their close relatives, coworkers, or household members, law enforcement and prosecutors who would enforce the new crimes, and people reporting crimes or engaging in protected speech who are exempted from liability.
Why it matters
People targeted with public posts of their home address, employer, or phone number, often meant to intimidate or harass them, would gain a specific criminal law to seek prosecution under, rather than relying on stalking or harassment statutes. Those who post such information, even without direct intent to harm, could face criminal charges.
Key provisions
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 16-11-93, defining terms like close relation, personally identifiable information, mental anguish, and significant economic injury.
- Subsection (b) defines doxing as posting someone's identifying information with reckless disregard that it could cause fear of stalking, injury, death, economic harm, or emotional distress, punishable as a misdemeanor, escalating to a felony on repeat offenses.
- Subsection (c) defines aggravated doxing as posting the information with actual intent to cause such harm and requires the harm to actually occur, punishable by two to five years in prison and rising to five to ten years for repeat offenses.
- Subsection (d) exempts reporting to law enforcement, reporting suspected crimes, and lawful constitutionally protected activity from prosecution under this section.
- Subsection (e) clarifies the law does not restrict free speech protections except for true threats or speech likely to provoke imminent lawless action.
- Subsections (f) and (g) establish that jurisdiction and venue can be based on where the post originated, was received, or where the victim resides.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.
From the bill
“A person commits the offense of doxing when he or she intentionally posts personally identifiable information of a second individual, or of a person of a close relation to such second individual, without such second individual's consent”
“A person commits the offense of aggravated doxing when he or she posts personally identifiable information of a second individual, or of a person of a close relation to such second individual, without such second individual's consent and does so with the intent”
“Personally identifiable information does not include the display of a property address provided on a real estate or mapping platform when the address is not displayed or disclosed in connection with any information identifying the owner or occupant.”
Discussed in meetings (4)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 11, 2026
From 0:20:12 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 27 would define and penalize doxxing, describing harmful sharing of identifying and location information as a growing problem. The sponsor said language preserving First Amendment rights addressed earlier concerns. A former state attorney general and a Front Line Policy witness supported the bill. The latter said it would close a gap in protections against online harassment. An ACLU of Georgia witness warned that the definition and reckless-disregard standard could cover negative business reviews without harmful intent. A second opposing witness said it could also cover criticism of public figures, identification of officers and campaigns publicizing someone's conduct. That witness argued that existing stalking and harassment laws already address intentional harm and that a constitutional-protection clause would not prevent people from avoiding lawful speech. Asked about changes, the second witness suggested removing significant economic injury as a covered harm, requiring intent rather than reckless disregard, requiring actual fear and reconsidering the separate aggravated offense. The sponsor, who reported experiencing two swatting incidents, disputed the opponents' legal interpretation and review examples, saying the bill required identifying information combined with a purpose to cause harm. The sponsor expressed confidence in its constitutionality. The chair deferred a vote until a quorum was available.
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 19, 2026
From 0:22:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair brought SB 27 before the committee for a vote on a substitute. Members made and seconded a motion to pass it. No amendments or substantive discussion followed. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with no opposition heard.
House Rules Committee, March 23, 2026
From 0:24:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 27 would address the crime of doxxing and thanked the House Judiciary Committee for refining it. The sponsor argued that the proposal would protect people from harm when technology is used to reveal their locations. No questions or calendar decision followed.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
Show full history (11 actions)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- John Albers (R, SD-56)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
- Rick Williams (R, SD-25)
- Mike Hodges (R, SD-3)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-1)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-31)
- Blake Tillery (R, SD-19)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-13)
- Brian Strickland (R, SD-42)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
- Brad Thomas (R, HD-21)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2025
52 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- doxing
- stalking laws
- online privacy
- criminal penalties
- free speech