Whistleblower

Have you ever been in a situation where you see an injustice happening, and you know you have to stop it? But sometimes, it might be hard to think about how things will change.

What would you do if a teacher is unjust or a friend is in trouble? Would you keep quiet, or would you ask for help?

Whistleblowers are people who have been in those situations where they don't have another way out but to report the injustice they have seen. And, even at the risk of their well-being, they must let people know to protect the public good.

Do you want to read more about them?

Whistleblower Definition

Imagine you are in gym class, and people are scattered, not listening. Then, your teacher blows the whistle, and you hear that annoying high-pitched sound. Everyone automatically turns to them to listen to what they have to say.

That normal reaction you and your classmates have is the root of the expression for whistleblower. The one who blows the whistle, and everybody listens. But, in this case, they teach something important for public knowledge.

Whistleblowing can happen either to inform a private organization or a governmental entity. The motivations for whistleblowing might vary. Among them: Financial reward, exposing abusive behavior, avoiding guilt by association, concern for others, and concern for the public.

There are three types of whistleblowing:

1. Internal:The one who reports misconduct to a high-ranking authority in the same company or organization. It is the most used form of whistleblowing. It can be mandatory when the company they work for requires them by contract to inform of any misconduct they might notice.
2. External:An employee discloses misconduct to people outside the company, the media, or the government department who can act on the information. Employees might decide to report externally when they feel an internal disclosure won't help the case, but they must get the legal and right agency on this case.
3. Online:This is a new way of reporting by disclosing online information about misconduct. This is a common way of whistleblowing nowadays, as it's a way to remain anonymous while reporting the wrongdoing.

Whistleblower Examples

In the last decade, whistleblowing has become more popular with the help of the media and social media. Here are some of the most important cases:

Edward Snowden

Fig. 1 – Edward Snowden - Wikimedia Commons

Edward Snowden was a computer intelligence consultant under contractor status in theNational SecurityAgency (NSA). In May 2013¹, he leaked highly classified information about surveillance programs run by the NSA.

According to Snowden, he tried to report his ethical concerns but was ignored by his superiors. It impulsed him to choose to travel to Hong Kong and report his findings to the media, revealing classified NSA documents as proof.

In June, The US Department of Justice opened charges against Snowden under the Espionage Act of 1917, which got his passport revoked. After that, he asked for asylum in more than 20 countries. Finally, Russia granted him asylum, and he has been living there since 2020².

Facebook

Facebook, now Meta, has been in the eye of several whistler blowers. One of them was Sophie Zang, a data scientist that worked in the department for Fake Engagement, which aimed to fight back against bots created by authoritarian governments.

In 2018, Zang realized that Honduras' president had engaged in more than 78% of fake accounts³, which helped to improve his approval rate. Zang learned more about political actors using this tactic to increase popularity and argued that following her attempts to internally whistleblow, Facebook did not address the issues raised.

After reporting this through internal channels, without response, she posted on Facebook's internal group for employees about her findings.

Then, in 2021, there was an internal leak of papers demonstrating Facebook is aware of the adverse effects on teenagers due to Instagram and how Facebook contributes to violence in developing countries. Frances Haugen came forward as the whistleblower with the help of an investigation by The Washington Journal⁴.

Pentagon Papers

Fig. 2 – Daniel Ellsberg - Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Ellsberg was a military analyst that worked with the Department of Defense on a study regarding the Vietnam War. In 1971⁵, he shared with The New York Times what they called The Pentagon Papers. It was only parts of the final report that showed disturbing findings, to mention a few:

1. The Vietnam War was unwinnable
2. The main objective of The Vietnam War was to contain China's global power.
3. The US helped overthrow South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963.

This was one of the first whistleblowing cases against the United States government, and it also brought up the case New York Times v. United States, one of the most critical cases on protectingFreedom of the Press.

Whistleblower: Law & Regulations

To avoid people not coming forward for fear of retaliation and to protectfreedom of speechrights, whistleblowers are usually legally protected when providing evidence of a legal violation. And government agencies have developed programs to encourage the disclosure of illegal acts.

Let's read about the most critical legal and policy requirements and protections for whistleblowers:

First Amendment and Freedom of Press

The Constitution of the United States has been amended several times to fit the current times. The first time it was amended was to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. It's comprised of Ten Amendments that comply with all citizens' civil liberties and rights.

TheFirst Amendmentof the Bill of Rights establishes the freedom of the press and speech. Therefore, they must be protected by every branch of government at the federal and state levels.

Whistleblowers use theirFirst Amendmentrights to speak up on issues they aim to uncover by themselves or by going to the press. TheFreedom of the Pressand Speech have helped many cases protect whistleblowers and publications from prosecution.

Reporting an Unauthorized Disclosure

Have you heard of NDAs? That's short for Nondisclosure Agreement and is common in employment. It is a legally binding contract that prohibits you from discussing topics covered by the agreement to protect your employer. In most cases, that includes sensitive information from a company.

When someone signs an NDA discloses information protected, it infringes on unauthorized disclosure, which can be reported to the authorities due to a breach of contract.

What happens when a whistleblower has signed an NDA and still blows the whistle on confidential information? Is it the same as blowing the whistle as reporting an unauthorized disclosure? Well, no, let's see an example:

Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989

This law was created to protect the disclosure of information by federal government employees and retaliation against them. However, if they do, the law created systems to help them. The conditions the law enacted for whistleblowing are:

Whistleblower Policy

Companies have a whistleblowing policy to give their employees the freedom to report immoral or illegal work, intending to comply with federal law, and have a transparent work environment.

This is usually called The Corporate Whistleblower Policy and Procedures. Companies extend and create internal channels for employees to disclose any misconduct, illegal or unethical activity and guide them through the proper process to move forward.