Blackmail

Blackmail is a form of DISSEMINATION privacy harm under the Solove taxonomy. Blackmail is defined as "threatening to disclose personal information."

A dating service for adulters charging customers to delete their accounts.

Additional comments

NOTE: This privacy harm has been deprecated in the latest version of Strategic Privacy by Design 2nd Edition. Blackmail is best thought of as a special form of Decisional Interference, whereby the aim of the threat actor is to induce some action on the part of the at-risk individual, given the potential for release of information by the threat actor.

Occurrences

• AI Pandemic
• Apple Faces Lawsuit Over AirTag Stalking Dangers (6 December 2022)
• Belarusian Hackers Leaked Police Personal Information (September 2020)
• Female Student Killed After Blackmail (2020)
• Hack of Psychotherapeutic Clinic in Finland (October 2020)
• Ring's Privacy Failures - Spying and Harassing Through Home Cameras (May 2023)

Laws and Regulations

The following laws and regulations address the Blackmail harm.