Is Doxxing Illegal In Idaho?

If you live in Idaho and have concerns about the privacy of your information, you may be wondering: Is doxxing illegal in Idaho? 

Read on to find out whether it’s a crime in Idaho for someone to share your personal information without your permission and what doxxing-related activities are against the law. 

Is Doxxing Illegal in Idaho?

The act of doxxing or publishing someone else’s personal information online without their permission is not expressly against the law in Idaho. That said, there are several doxing-related activities that are illegal in the state.

Doxxing Related Activities That Are Illegal in Idaho

Even if doxxing itself isn’t illegal in Idaho, when a bad actor has your contact information, it can lead to several criminal activities, including repeated unwanted communications, being followed, or assault. 

Malicious harassment

If someone maliciously injures you or damages your property or threatens to do so because of your race, color, ancestry, religion, or national origin, they can be charged with malicious harassment (Idaho Code § 18-7902) in Idaho. 

This charge comes with up to 5 years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

Stalking

When someone repeatedly harasses you to the point of emotional distress (including by sending repeated electronic communications) or causes you to believe that you or a loved one is at risk for injury or death, it’s considered stalking in the second degree (Idaho Code § 18-7906) in Idaho. 

Stalking in the second degree comes with a penalty of up to one year in prison and/or up to $1,000 in fines.

If the victim is under 16 years of age or the offender has been charged before, it’s stalking in the first degree, which is punishable by between 1 and 5 years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.

Assault

Anytime someone attempts or threatens to injure you violently (online or otherwise), the assault (Idaho Code § 18-901) charge could come into play.  

Assaulting someone is a misdemeanor in Idaho, with up to three months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Misappropriation of personal identifying information 

While it may not be illegal in Idaho to post someone else’s personal information online without their permission, using that information to acquire credit, goods, or services is illegal. 

Using information like this is considered misappropriation of personal identifying information (Idaho Code § 18-3126), a misdemeanor entailing up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, harass, or annoy by false statements

Telephone numbers are one of the more commonly doxxed pieces of information. 

If someone finds your telephone number and uses it to terrify, intimidate, harass, or annoy you (Idaho Code § 18-6711), they can be charged with a misdemeanor in Idaho, which comes with up to six months imprisonment in county jail and a $1,000 fine.

Use of telephone to annoy, terrify, threaten, intimidate, harass or offend 

When someone uses electronic methods to send obscene messages to you, threatens you, or repeatedly disturbs your peace and quiet using electronic communications (Idaho Code § 18-6710), they can be penalized with up to one year in the county jail in Idaho. 

Repeat offenses could lead to up to five years in the state jail.

False alarms

A closely related activity to doxxing is swatting, which occurs when someone calls law enforcement to make a false report about a crime happening at an unsuspecting victim’s residence. 

Swatting can result in a charge of making a false report (Idaho Code § 18-6711A) in Idaho, leading to up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Trespass of privacy

In Idaho, trespassing of privacy (Idaho Code § 18-7006) occurs when someone comes onto your private property and intentionally looks, peers, or peeks into your home through an opening in the window or door. 

Trespassing of privacy like this is a misdemeanor that can result in up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Unlawful entry

Anytime someone enters someone else’s property in Idaho without their permission, they can be charged with unlawful entry (Idaho Code § 18-7034). 

In most cases, it’s a misdemeanor that comes with up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Is Doxxing Illegal at the Federal Level?

There is no federal law against doxxing. That’s partly due to the large amount of personal information publicly available online.

However, several states (including Arizona, California, and Illinois) have passed their own anti-doxxing laws to protect their residents.

Whether you have legal protection against being doxxed or not, it’s a good idea to try to prevent doxxing from happening in the first place. Once some information gets out, it’s hard, if not impossible, to remove it from the internet. 

How to Protect Yourself Against Doxxing In Idaho (And Elsewhere)

To protect against doxxing, you need to make yourself undoxxable. Begin by doxxing yourself. 

While it may sound counter-intuitive, taking steps to dox yourself (by following our step-by-step guide using these self-doxxing tools) will give you the best idea of where your information is exposed online – and what you should do to remove it.

Once you’ve doxxed yourself, you’ll likely need to take several steps to minimize your online footprint, including:

• Opting out of data brokers, which are companies that collect your information and sell it to anyone willing to pay a minimal fee. You’ll need to opt out of each major data broker with a profile on you, most likely multiple times, as your profile will be reactivated when new information turns up. Alternatively, consider subscribing to a data broker removal service like DeleteMe to handle this process for you. 
• Changing your social media profile settings from public to private (here’s how someone could doxx you by being able to see your Instagram profile).
• Changing and using different usernames for your accounts to prevent bad actors from following your online trail.
• Limiting the amount of personal information you share online. 

To learn more, read our guide on how to prevent doxxing.