Sep 2023: New tech whistleblowing guides, anonymous sources targeted, TSN growth
New resource for tech workers in U.K., Ireland
With the help of whistleblowers, journalists, and experts, TSN has published 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.
They 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.
Learn more here and help us spread the word!
On that note…
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 whistleblowers, whistleblowing experts and journalists. Join us! Registration is available here.
Worrying trend of targeting journalists, anonymous sources
Recent stories of journalists being targeted in democracies such as France and the U.S. speak to a worrying trend in attacks by authorities on journalists and their anonymous sources.
Protections are increasingly in jeopardy. The attack on press freedom at a local level does not grab headlines as much as big national cases, but the chilling effect is as big a concern, if not bigger, in part because it is less covered.
Suing journalists for libel or slander can be a way for police to force them to reveal sources. Not every state has a shield law. There is no federal shield law, despite a growing need for one. Read more here.
More whistleblowers than ever are coming to us for help
Earlier this month, TSN held an in-person event at the home of TSN Board Member Maryam Banikarim and Andrew Lerner in New York City. The goal was to build awareness of the importance of whistleblowing and our work in protecting those who come forward. In her opening remarks, Executive Director Delphine Halgand-Mishra highlighted TSN’s growth, telling the crowd that our small team of eight receives approximately two new requests per week for support
We had over 80 attendees including journalists, lawyers, nonprofit partners, whistleblowers, filmmakers and other TSN friends. They heard more about the role TSN plays in protecting whistleblowers who risk everything to speak truth to power. We hope to see you at the next one. In the meantime, please don’t forget to support our work. We cannot do this without you.
Whistleblower news roundup
- Ex-Facebook moderator and TSN-supported whistleblower Daniel Motaung spoke at MozFest House: Kenya this month, calling on African digital workers to champion digital rights.
- Friday, Sept. 22 was the one-year anniversary of TSN-supported Twitter whistleblower Anika Collier Navaroli going public via The Washington Post.
- NBC News’ Julia Ainsley reports: Whistleblowers say lack of U.S. government oversight led migrant children to working unsafe jobs.
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 10 will start hearing arguments in a case to decide whether plaintiffs suing for retaliation must show that their employer acted with retaliatory intent. Attorneys tell Bloomberg Law’s Khorri Atkinson that requiring proof of retaliatory intent “would make it virtually impossible for whistleblowers to pursue Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation claims and discourage workers from stepping forward.”
- Reporters Robert Downen and Patrick Svitek for The Texas Tribune: The four whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the FBI have vowed to continue their legal fight with Paxton.
P.S. … Do you have a friend or colleague who is interested in holding power to account? Help us grow our mailing list! They can sign up for our newsletter here.
