This week, the independent Facebook Oversight Board called on the company to create stronger rules to prevent “doxxing,” or the practice of sharing users’ addresses without their permission. Facebook currently prohibits the sharing of private information but allows it when the info is “publicly available,” as many addresses are.

According to the Board, Facebook should remove the “publicly available information” exception when it comes to private addresses. The oversight group also recommended that Facebook create a special tool for victims of doxxing to report harassment, including users who aren’t on Facebook or Instagram. However, the Board emphasized that protests should still be allowed at the homes of public figures, and said that users shouldn’t be punished if they want to share their own address voluntarily.

“The Board understands that the sharing of private residential addresses and images represents a potentially serious violation of the right to privacy,” the Board wrote in its decision. “As the potential for harm is particularly context specific, it is challenging to develop objective and universal indicators that would allow content reviewers to distinguish the sharing of content that would be harmful from shares that would not be. That is why the Board believes that the Privacy Violations policy should be more protective of privacy.”

Doxxing is one of the most toxic and dangerous forms of harassment online, so it’s great news that the Oversight Board is pressuring Facebook to do something about it. If the company compliers with the recommendation, this will be a huge win for user privacy.

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