Training modules/Dealing with online harassment/slides/off-wiki-steps-to-recommend

Handling personal information: Off-wiki steps to recommend

Off-wiki posting of information is much more difficult to remove than on-wiki edits. Once information is posted online, it can spread quickly and be difficult or impossible to completely remove.

It can be a good idea to contact the hosts of the website on which the leaked content has been hosted and ask them to remove it. This is especially effective when the website in question has a Trust and Safety team set up to deal with these situations. If they don't, it can be more difficult to have content removed, but it is usually possible.

If the person experiencing harassment has concerns for their safety as a result of the leak, they may contact their local law enforcement. This should ideally be done by the person experiencing the harassment themselves, as some authorities may not accept reports by a third party. The posting of personal information online may be illegal depending on where those involved are located, especially if that information is illegally obtained.

It's important to remember that, because of laws regarding charities in the United States, the Wikimedia Foundation cannot provide legal advice to Wikimedians. Legal help varies by country or area, and may be worth investigating should the harassment be serious enough.