MLM Bot Watch 53: The saga continues...

[GoldenKelpie]

Starting a new thread on all things MLM!

We’ve had bots on these threads before, it goes like this:

• I did well and so you aren’t being fair
• you are all horrid stalkers
• watch out you’ll be in trouble for these posts

@whiterangey

I think the screenshots comment was that the ex bot has screenshots from this thread that they are using to try and identify posters. I believe this is known as Doxing and is illegal.

"Doxing or doxxing is the Internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting private or identifying information about an individual or organization. The methods employed to acquire this information include searching publicly available databases and social media websites, hacking, and social engineering."

The act of revealing identifying information about someone with an anonynous online presence — their real name, address, workplace, phone number, or other identifying information — is known as doxing (also spelled “doxxing”). The word evolved from the phrase “dropping dox;” hacker slang referring to documents that identify an anonymous person.

Oh, ok.

Why take screenshots when we can't edit posts? The posts are still here.

Even if a new law came in which would make it a criminal offence to make posts similar to those in this long thread, it would not apply retrospectively. You can’t break a law which hasn’t even been drafted yet.

Which bot visited us? Was it BarnBot?

I'm also surprised that bots would want to bring attention to these threads. They are always eager to stop their downlines finding them. Telling them to stay away and not read them.

As mentioned by a pp, anyone threatening to reveal the identity of anonymous online persona can face legal proceedings for blackmail/intimidation with a view to DOX.

Holding screenshots in order to identify an anonymous online persona would also foul of GDPR -

Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. Different pieces of information, which collected together can lead to the identification of a particular person, also constitute personal data.

What happens on these threads is the opposite of doxing. We take publicly posted info by individuals under their real names and we anonymize it. Screenshots with names obscured (not that that happens here but it does on other anti MLM groups e.g. Reddit) is disguising not revealing identities.

@MLMsuperfan
My post is in reference to the bot claiming to be able to identify Mumsnet users.

So where would checking IP addresses and sharing the locations of those IP addresses come in on the scale?

Say you had your own website, which of course you can check the analytics of, including the location of those clicking on your site.

Say you then shared that information with friends in an attempt to try and work out who the people are based on their IP.

Where does that come in? Is that something to do with GDPR?

How much trouble would you be in?

It would fall under both GDPR breach and Doxing. The first breach is sharing the ip address of a visitor without a GDPR policy in place that allows them to opt out of their information being shared or sharing that information with third parties where consent is not expressly given.

To then use that anonymous/encrypted information without consent to convert it into information that identifies a living entity (anonymous persona now made into an identified person) would be a second breach of GDPR moving into doxing.

Disregarding the i.p. specifically, we have just witnessed a bot claiming they have done the latter.

Once again @poodlepop - Children playing in an Adults world.

GDPR breaches face heavy fines. Doxing has ties to further legislation so motives, blackmail, extortion and threat are considered in relation to intent.
GDPR
The Protection From Harrassment Act
The Computer Misuse Act

All feed into the right to online anonymity.
In order to legally identify any person online you must have a court order signed by a judge stating that it is in 'public interest'.

You can not use services online to obtain information held on a person without the persons permission hence GDPR.

The Computer Misuse Act also applies to doxing when an individual uses there computer for nefarious purposes ie doxing which is considered harrasement and falls undr TPFHA The Protection from Harrasement Act.

Just because a person is in another country doesnt mean these laws dont protect you - they do if you are a UK citizen and the person targetting you is in another county as the data would be of a UK person protected by these laws which law enforcement and online services must enforce these laws as a criminal matter.

In terms of fines, under current rules, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) can fine up to £500,000 for malpractice but the GDPR will be able to fine up to €20 million or 4 per cent of annual turnover (whichever is higher).

The things you need to sign and comply with to let other people hold information about you is unreal. The person holding the information has to jump through so many hoops. I had to go through that recently when someone wanted to hold personal information about me in their records.

In the end I just said "Mum, it's your Christmas card list and i'm your daughter, do we need to go through this every year?"

Lol Whiterangey!!

Seriously though, in all these so called ‘trainings’, are bots educated about GDPR? They are told to make lists of everyone they know, even tangentially, and contact them.... do they seek assent to details being kept? When they are told to take ‘no’ as ‘not yet’ as an answer so intend to contact people again, weeks or months later? Where do they keep their data protection compliance agreements? They are independent business owners after all, they should know all this.

MNHQ have taken down bishbot's thread

At her request?

Or his request?

Is says they are taking a look behind the scenes

Another bot bites the dust.

I know who BishBashBot is. She rose quickly in Forever and turned heads. Rumours were that she wasn't quite honest about how she recruited so fast. Nods towards her downloading her works client list, possible use of automated systems and her background in marketing allowed her to target those people with a social media marketing campaign that would feature in their news feeds plus a hefty ad fee that enabled her post to go viral. Not really duplicatable hence the short sharp stint she did. Her downline couldn't replicate her success, she left the UK to travel the world. Quite shrewd as she used her money wisely but very deceitful in how she made it if those rumours are true.

Ahhhh

Is bishbash someone with a nickname on here??? Help!!! 😂😂