The four legal pillars for combating doxxing, cyberbullying and online child sexual abuse
- Admin
- Dec 14, 2025
- 5 min read
Understanding, articulating and using the law to defend oneself on the Internet
The internet has profoundly transformed violence. It is no longer always direct or immediate. It is often diffuse, gradual, and collective. Personal information published, an intimate image shared, a link forwarded, child pornography left online: these are all acts which, taken individually, may sometimes seem harmless, but which, together, construct trajectories of destruction.
Faced with this reality, the law is not powerless. Contrary to a widespread fatalistic discourse, there is now a real legal system , composed of national and international texts, which makes it possible to effectively combat doxxing, online harassment and the most serious forms of cybercrime, particularly those related to pedophilia.
This system rests on four complementary pillars. Understanding them means empowering victims.
1. A paradigm shift: from perceived impunity to chain responsibility
For a long time, online violence was treated as a grey area. Victims faced stereotypical responses: "it's public data" , "we're just a hosting provider" , "freedom of expression" , "it's not our responsibility" .
The four texts we analyze here mark a profound break. They are based on a common idea, now central to digital law:
Dissemination is never neutral, and knowledge entails responsibility.
Whether it involves personal data, stolen images, harassment content or child pornography, modern law targets not only the original perpetrator, but the entire chain of dissemination and facilitation .
2. First pillar: the GDPR – the protection of individuals through data
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 , known as the GDPR , is often reduced to an administrative constraint. In reality, it forms the basis for the protection of victims of doxxing and harassment.
The GDPR defines personal data extremely broadly (Article 4): any information that allows for the identification of a person, directly or indirectly. An address, a photo, a pseudonym, a video, a publication history: all of this falls within its scope.
Article 6 mandates that all processing must be based on a legal basis. Harassment, doxxing, or malicious dissemination have no such basis. Article 17 enshrines the right to erasure , often called the right to be forgotten, which allows a victim to demand the removal of illegal content, even when it has been widely disseminated.
The GDPR has extraterritorial reach (Article 3). A foreign website that targets or affects European residents can be subject to it. This makes it a formidable weapon against platforms that try to hide behind their location.
👉 The GDPR protects the person as such, regardless of the immediate criminal seriousness of the facts.
WAAD Reference Article: GDPR: The European law that protects your data, your image and your dignity in the age of cyberbullying: GDPR: The European law that protects your data, your image and your dignity in the age of cyberbullying
3. Second pillar: the DMCA – the global weapon against illegal distribution
The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is a US law, codified notably in 17 USC §512 , but its impact is global. Why? Because it structures the essentials of the modern Internet: hosting providers, search engines, CDNs, registrars, social media platforms.
Its central mechanism, notice and takedown , is based on a simple logic: protected content is distributed without authorization, the intermediary is notified, it must act promptly to preserve its legal immunity ( safe harbor ).
DMCA is particularly effective in cases of:
revenge porn
dissemination of private images,
reuse of personal photos,
republication of malicious archives.
It often allows for a much faster withdrawal than traditional legal procedures, and its effectiveness is enhanced when combined with the GDPR.
👉 Where the GDPR protects the individual, the DMCA targets the content and its visibility.
WAAD Reference Article: DMCA: The American law that has become the global weapon against digital abuse and content theft : DMCA: The American law that has become the global weapon against digital abuse, content theft, and illegal distribution
4. Third pillar: the Samuel Paty law – the broadcaster's responsibility in the face of doxxing
France has taken a decisive step with the introduction of article 223-1-1-2 of the Penal Code , resulting in particular from law no. 2021-646 of May 25, 2021 and law no. 2021-1109 of August 24, 2021.
This text criminalizes the act of revealing or disseminating personal information with the aim of exposing a person to risk , even if the harm has not yet occurred.
Its scope is exceptional: it targets not only the original author, but also disseminators in the broadest sense. Retweeting, quoting, republishing, relaying, amplifying: all these acts can incur criminal liability if they contribute to exposure to danger.
This law is based on a strong intuition, now legally enshrined: doxxing is an endangerment , not a simple violation of privacy.
👉 It allows victims of harassment to take action before the situation escalates.
WAAD Reference Article: The Samuel Paty Law: When French Law Holds the Broadcaster Responsible for Doxxing: The “Samuel Paty” Law: When French Law Holds the Broadcaster Responsible for Doxxing
5. Fourth pillar: the repression of online pedophilia – absolute criminal responsibility
The fight against online pedophilia is based primarily on Article 227-23 of the Penal Code , which criminalizes the recording, dissemination, transmission, habitual viewing and possession of child pornography.
Unlike other areas, there are no legal gray areas here . This content is clearly illegal by nature. Its dissemination is never neutral, never excusable, never protected.
French law explicitly recognizes that:
The dissemination fuels criminal networks.
The consultation trivializes and prepares the way for the act to be committed.
Deliberate inaction entails responsibility.
The LCEN (article 6.I.2) requires hosting providers and technical service providers to promptly remove such content as soon as they become aware of it. Failure to act may constitute complicity ( articles 121-6 and 121-7 of the Penal Code).
👉 In this area, turning a blind eye is not neutrality, it is a criminal offense.
WAAD Reference Article: Online Pedophilia: When French Law Imposes Clear Responsibility on Broadcasters and Platforms: Online Pedophilia: When French Law Imposes Clear Responsibility on Broadcasters and Platforms
6. How do these four pillars interact in practice for a victim?
These texts are not mutually exclusive. They reinforce each other .
The same situation can fall under:
of the GDPR (personal data),
of the DMCA (protected content),
of the Samuel Paty law (endangerment by dissemination),
of the Penal Code (harassment or sexual offences).
It is precisely this cumulative approach that gives the system its strength. A victim does not have to choose one law. They can use them all together , depending on the nature of the facts and the actors involved.
Modern law for combating digital abuse is no longer linear. It is systemic .
7. A common goal: to break the chain before tragedy strikes
These four pillars are based on a shared observation: digital violence often precedes real-world violence . Designation, exposure, trivialization, and dissemination are all stages in this process.
Legislators, both in France and internationally, have chosen not to wait for irreparable damage. They are placing responsibility on:
the diffusers,
the relays,
the platforms,
technical service providers.
The internet is no longer considered a simple transit space, but a space for actions , with real consequences.
A legal system at the service of victims
Taken individually, each text is powerful. Taken together, they form a real legal bulwark against doxxing, cyberbullying and the most serious forms of online crime.
The message is now clear: 👉 broadcasting is an obligation, hosting is a requirement, knowledge empowers.
For victims, understanding these four pillars means overcoming their powerlessness. It means knowing that the law exists, that it is structured, and that it can be used strategically and effectively.
This is precisely the objective of this educational work: to give victims back the keys to their own digital defense .
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