The Maryland General Assembly will not vote on a bill aimed at preventing students from being doxxed after its legislative session closed Monday night.
The bill, which would have prevented the distribution of students’ personal information — such as their name, address or place of employment — did not advance after its initial hearing on Feb. 26.
Maryland Sen. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel) sponsored the bill after multiple University of Maryland students reported being doxxed. Discussions about doxxing have increased as student protests related to the Israel-Hamas war have risen at campuses across the nation.
If the bill passed, doxxing would have been punishable by up to a year in prison and up to a $5,000 fine in Maryland starting Oct. 1. The bill would also have encouraged public universities across Maryland to work with local law enforcement agencies to find and arrest doxxing perpetrators, Henson said.
“We do not understand the pushback and reluctance to move forward given the prevalence of this issue and mental impact to students,” Henson wrote in a statement to The Diamondback.
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Last semester, two students at this university reported being doxxed by their roommate, which they said led to death threats, according to a news release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights advocacy group.
The organization filed a complaint against this university in December after the students reported being doxxed, according to the news release.
University president Darryll Pines told The Diamondback on March 5 that this university takes doxxing seriously.
“If anyone in our community feels like they’re being doxxed, we want them to report it to the appropriate office,” Pines said. “We will investigate it, and we will work to hold those individuals accountable for their actions.”
Zainab Chaudry, director of CAIR’s Maryland office, said University of Maryland Police told the two students there was nothing the students could do except file a peace order against their former roommate.
This university does not comment on specific pending legislation or misconduct cases involving students in accordance with federal privacy laws.
This university’s civil rights and sexual misconduct office handles all reports of discrimination and harassment, according to a university statement sent to The Diamondback on March 11.
After the doxxing incident, CAIR’s Maryland office helped draft the Maryland General Assembly bill and mobilized communities to support it, Chaudry said.
Part of Chaudry’s support for the legislation comes from the lack of laws that protect university students from doxxing.
Chaudry believes the bill would encourage more people to report their experiences, especially with an increase in doxxing cases reported to CAIR.
In a statement to The Diamondback, Chaudry wrote that CAIR is “disappointed that the bill was not brought forward for a vote in committee,” but will continue to work with the bill’s sponsor to advocate for “protections against doxxing to students in college and universities.”
Henson told The Diamondback students who shared their stories of being doxxed inspired her to sponsor the bill. The senator said she is determined to join the other 19 states with anti-doxxing laws.
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The Maryland bill targets college students so they can use their voice publicly without worrying about repercussions, Henson told The Diamondback.
Although Maryland has child privacy laws that protect minors from doxxing, college students are a vulnerable population, Henson said.
Shelly Cohen Fudge, a member of the Washington, D.C., Metro Jewish Voice for Peace chapter, testified in favor of the bill on Feb. 26.
Fudge said doxxing is a serious form of harassment that often targets young people.
Many students who express support for Palestine, including Jewish students who criticize Israel’s policies, are targeted for doxxing, Fudge added.
Pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the country have increased since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel which killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage, according to the Associated Press. Israel declared war on Hamas the next day and its military forces have since killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the news agency reported Monday.
Henson said that doxxing is used as a tool to intimidate or harass students into silence.
“Anytime you use your voice in a powerful way,” Henson said, “there’ll be people who don’t want you to share that opinion, who don’t want you to be able to put the truth, as you see it, in the public domain.”
