When Privacy Becomes a Weapon: Understanding Doxxing and Privacy Vulnerabilities in Mainland China's Social Media Ecosystem

Abstract

Doxxing, the malicious disclosure of personal information, has become a pervasive privacy threat. Yet existing research remains predominantly Western-centric, limiting our understanding of how doxxing unfolds in contexts where mandatory identity systems, platform governance, and cultural logics fundamentally reshape privacy risks and harm trajectories. We address this gap through semi-structured interviews with 18 doxxing survivors in mainland China, synthesizing their experiences into a framework conceptualizing how doxxing operates in this context. Our findings reveal both patterns echoing prior Western findings, such as platform amplification mechanisms that resonate with Western findings, and China-specific dynamics shaped by the interplay of regulatory mandates (compulsory identity linkage) and cultural logics including nationalist discourse, fandom culture, Confucian values, and low privacy literacy. Survivors' experiences further reveal how doxxing reshapes understanding of privacy: from preference to precondition, from momentary disclosure to temporal vulnerability, and from individual control to structural powerlessness. These insights challenge agency-centered privacy frameworks and suggest that effective protection requires constraining systemic vulnerabilities rather than relying solely on user empowerment. We conclude by proposing multifaceted recommendations spanning legal reform, platform design, and social initiatives.