By Kotie Geldenhuys
Photos courtesy of Flickr
Desmond Babloo Singh, an 18-year-old from Temple, Texas, appeared to lead an ordinary life, but between 18 April and 24 November 2020, he developed a dangerous obsession with a young woman. After she had rejected his romantic advances and asked him to stop contacting her, his obsession escalated, leading to disturbing behaviour. Following the initial rejection, Singh launched a terrifying, months-long cyberstalking campaign using more than 100 social media and phone accounts and flooding the woman with messages featuring death threats, racial slurs and violent sexual content.
According to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), there has been an increase in “doxing” which is considered one of the most harmful forms of privacy invasion on the internet (SAHRC, nd). Doxing, short for “dropping documents” or “dox”, is a harmful online practice where someone’s personal information is shared without their permission. It began in the early days of Internet forums and chat rooms, where users often used fake names to stay anonymous. With social media and the blending of online and offline worlds, people are more likely to use their real identities online these days, while hoping to keep some personal details private for safety (Equality Now, 2023).
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[This is only an extract of an article that is published in Servamus: October 2024. This article is available for purchase.]