TSN announces new tech whistleblowing guides for U.K., Ireland
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 September 2023
The Signals Network (TSN) announced today the publication of two new guides to help tech workers in the U.K.and Ireland make informed decisions on speaking out about corporate wrongdoing. The guides, “A Tech Workers Guide to Whistleblowing: U.K. & Ireland Editions,” do not encourage whistleblowing, but explain the risks, lay out whistleblowing laws and offer practical tips on blowing the whistle safely.
TSN collaborated with whistleblowing and legal experts within each jurisdiction to produce the guides, as well as past whistleblowers and investigative journalists. The Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and the U.K. whistleblowing charity Protect supported TSN in the creation of the U.K. edition. Dr. Lauren Kierans, a barrister and Lecturer-in-Law at Maynooth University, supported the creation of the Ireland edition.
The guides are the latest in the international Tech Workers Guide to Whistleblowing series geared toward educating those who work in the tech industry on their rights. The Tech Worker Handbook for U.S. was released two years ago under the leadership of Pinterest whistleblower Ifeoma Ozoma. While the focus is on the need to hold Big Tech to account, the guides are also useful to those in other industries.
“Whistleblowers are a pillar of our democracy, and they often take extreme risks to reveal the truth and stop widespread public harm,” said Delphine Halgand-Mishra, Executive Director of TSN. “Whether speaking up in the workplace, or to authorities or an investigative journalist, they deserve to know their rights and receive proper support for their service to the public good.”
Now more than ever, the tech industry needs whistleblowers to hold it accountable. That’s why many tech whistleblowers have turned to the media in recent years. But necessary protections for those whistleblowers are lacking, affecting the impact of their truth-telling or resulting in enormous personal costs including job loss, doxxing or imprisonment.
Journalists are also limited in how much they can help their source navigate the myriad legal, financial and safety-related repercussions of whistleblowing.
Frontline Club, London, is hosting a discussion about the guides and Big Tech whistleblowing on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. The event will feature big tech whistleblowers, The Guardian and whistleblowing experts. Registration is available here.
The creation of the U.K. and Ireland guides was supported by funding from Luminate Projects Limited.
For inquiries about TSN’s whistleblower protection, send a secure, encrypted email to jennifer@thesignalsnetwork.org.
To view the PDF version of this press release, click here.
