Training modules/Dealing with online harassment/slides/responding-to-posters-of-pii

Handling personal information: Responding to posters of PII

There are a few ways you can respond to those who post personally identifiable information. Policies on assuming good faith vary greatly by project, but you will generally be able to use common sense to determine whether something is done on purpose or by accident.

If the PII was posted by accident, treat the actual PII as serious, but try to communicate with the posting user as quietly as possible about why posting this type of information is not allowed. For example, a user may have posted their email address for further correspondence. Or they may have posted what they thought was a known connection between two online identities that had actually not been previously linked.

If the posting of this information was obviously deliberate, or if a seemingly accidental posting is repeated, more severe action might be needed. Cases of deliberate PII release might include an attempt to "out" another editor, perhaps to link their account to a purported employer. It could also include leaking personal emails or other communication which could be compromising.

In cases of deliberate PII release, use your judgment to decide whether a stern warning will suffice or whether a block is necessary. If you choose to use a block, be aware that you may also need to restrict the blocked user's ability to edit their talk page in order to keep them from posting the PII there.

Possibly the hardest part of dealing with the public posting of personal information is corresponding with those experiencing harassment.