View source for Whistleblowing

{{Short description|Exposing of scandalous activity}}
{{redirect|Whistleblower}}
{{See also|List of whistleblowers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

'''Whistleblowing''' (also '''whistle-blowing''' or '''whistle blowing''') is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations. Over 83% of whistleblowers report internally to a supervisor, [[human resources]], [[Regulatory compliance|compliance]], or a neutral third party within the company, hoping that the company will address and correct the issues. A whistleblower can also bring allegations to light by communicating with external entities, such as the [[Media (communication)|media]], government, or law enforcement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chalouat |first1=Iheb |last2=Carrión-Crespo |first2=Carlos |last3=Licata |first3=Margherita |title=Law and practice on protecting whistle-blowers in the public and financial services sectors |url=https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/publication/wcms_718048.pdf |publisher=International Labour Office, Geneva |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> Some countries legislate as to what constitutes a protected disclosure, and the permissible methods of presenting a disclosure. Whistleblowing can occur in the private sector or the public sector.

Whistleblowers often face retaliation for their disclosure, including termination of employment. Several other actions may also be considered retaliatory, including unreasonable increase in workloads, reduction of hours, preventing task completion, [[mobbing]] or bullying.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vandekerckhove|first=Wim|title=Whistleblowing and Organizational Social Responsibility: A Global Assessment.|publisher=Ashgate|year=2006}}</ref> Laws in many countries attempt to provide protection for whistleblowers and regulate whistleblowing activities. These laws tend to adopt different approaches to public and private sector whistleblowing.

Whistleblowers do not always achieve their aims; for their claims to be credible and successful, they must have compelling evidence so that the government or regulating body can investigate them and hold corrupt companies and/or government agencies to account.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Gabrielle |date=2024-02-14 |title=U.S. Supreme Court Holds SOX Whistleblowers Not Required to Show Retaliatory Intent (US) |url=https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/u-s-supreme-court-holds-sox-whistleblowers-not-required-to-show-retaliatory-intent-us/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Employment Law Worldview }}</ref> To succeed, they must also persist in their efforts over what can often be years, in the face of extensive, coordinated and prolonged efforts that institutions can deploy to silence, discredit, isolate, and erode their financial and mental wellbeing.

Whistleblowers have been likened to ‘Prophets at work’,<ref name="Prophets_at_work">{{Cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=S. |last2=Roberts |first2=J. |date=27 December 2011 |publication-date=2012 |title=Whistleblowers in Organisations: Prophets at Work? |journal=Journal of Business Ethics |volume=110 |pages=71–84 |doi=10.1007/s10551-011-1148-7}}</ref> but many lose their jobs, are victims of campaigns to discredit and isolate them, suffer financial and mental pressures, and some lose their lives. Such examples include [[John Barnett (whistleblower)|John Barnett]], who died on the day he was due to give deposition testimony as a whistleblower against aerospace company [[Boeing]], and [[David Kelly (weapons expert)|David Kelly]], who was found dead two days after the UK parliamentary [[Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament|Intelligence and Security]] and Foreign Affairs Select Committees publicized that he would be called about the dubious claims used to convince the UK Parliament to vote to invade Iraq.

==Overview==
===Origin of term===
U.S. [[Civil activist|civic activist]] [[Ralph Nader]] is said to have coined the phrase in the early 1970s<ref>See: New Scientist 9 December 1971, p. 69: "The Code [of Good Conduct of The British Computer Society] contains secrecy clauses that effectively prohibit Nader style whistle-blowing"</ref>  in order to avoid the negative connotations found in other words such as "informer" and "snitch".<ref>Nader, Petkas, and Blackwell, Whistleblowing (1972).</ref> However, the origins of the word date back to the 19th century.

The word is linked to the use of a whistle to alert the public or a crowd about such problems as the commission of a crime or the breaking of rules during a game. The phrase ''whistle blower'' attached itself to [[Law enforcement|law enforcement officials]] in the 19th century because they used a whistle to alert the public or fellow police.<ref name="Meaning and origin">{{cite web|title=The meaning and origin of the expression: Whistle-blower|url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/whistle-blower.html|website=The Phrase Finder|publisher=Gary Martin|access-date=27 January 2017}}</ref> Sports [[referee]]s, who use a whistle to indicate an illegal or [[Foul (sports)|foul play]], also were called whistle blowers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=whistleblower+&searchmode=none |title=Etymonline.com |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/whistleblower/ |title=Wordorigins.org |publisher=Wordorigins.org |access-date=8 July 2012 |archive-date=29 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429004210/http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/whistleblower |url-status=dead }}</ref>

An 1883 story in Wisconsin's [[The Gazette (Janesville, Wisconsin)|Janesville Gazette]] called a policeman who used his whistle to alert citizens about a riot a ''whistle blower'', without the hyphen. By the year 1963, the phrase had become a hyphenated word, ''whistle-blower''. The word began to be used by journalists in the 1960s for people who revealed wrongdoing, such as Nader. It eventually evolved into the compound word ''whistleblower''.<ref name="Meaning and origin" />

=== Channels for whistleblowing ===

==== Internal channels ====
Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who report [[misconduct]] on a fellow employee or superior within their company through anonymous reporting mechanisms often called [[hotline]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2017|isbn=978-1305500846|pages=194}}</ref> Within such situations, circumstances and factors can cause a person to either act on the spot to prevent/stop illegal and unacceptable behavior, or report it.<ref name="Rowe">{{cite journal |last1=Rowe |first1=Mary |last2=Wilcox |first2=Linda |last3=Gadlin |first3=Howard |title=Dealing with — or Reporting — "Unacceptable" Behavior* (With additional thoughts about the "Bystander Effect") |journal=Journal of the International Ombudsman Association |date=2009 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=52–64 |url=https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=5397}}</ref> There are some reasons to believe that people are more likely to take action with respect to unacceptable behavior, within an organization, if there are complaint systems that offer not just options dictated by the planning and control organization, but a ''choice'' of options for absolute confidentiality.<ref>Mary Rowe, "Options and choice for conflict resolution in the workplace" in ''Negotiation: Strategies for Mutual Gain'', by Lavinia Hall (ed.), Sage Publications, Inc., 1993, pp. 105–119.</ref>

Anonymous reporting mechanisms,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2014/10/25/elements-of-an-effective-whistleblower-hotline/|title=Elements of an Effective Whistleblower Hotline|website=corpgov.law.harvard.edu|date=25 October 2014}}</ref> as mentioned previously, help foster a climate whereby employees are more likely to report or seek guidance regarding potential or actual wrongdoing without fear of retaliation. The coming anti-bribery management systems standard, [[ISO 37001]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=65034|title=ISO 37001:2016 – Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for use|website=www.iso.org|date=9 December 2021 }}</ref> includes anonymous reporting as one of the criteria for the new standard.

==== External channels ====
External whistleblowers report misconduct to outside people or entities. In these cases, depending on the nature of the information, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or [[consumer protection|watchdog agencies]], or other local, state, or federal agencies. In some cases, external whistleblowing is encouraged by offering monetary rewards.

==== Third-party channels ====
Sometimes organizations use external agencies to create a secure and anonymous reporting channel for their employees, often referred to as a whistleblowing hotline. In addition to protecting the identity of the whistleblower, these services are designed to inform the individuals at the top of the organizational pyramid of misconduct, usually via integration with specialized [[case management software]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Implementing a third-party solution is often the easiest way for an organization to promote compliance, or to offer a whistleblowing policy where one did not previously exist. An increasing number of companies and authorities use third-party services in which the whistleblower is also anonymous to the third-party service provider, which is made possible via toll-free phone numbers and/or web or app-based solutions that apply [[Public-key cryptography|asymmetrical encryption]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

=== Private versus public sectors ===

==== Private sector whistleblowing ====
[[Private sector]] whistleblowing is arguably more prevalent and suppressed in society today.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Rise of the Whistleblower and the Death of Privacy Impact of 9/11 and Enron|last = Castagnera|first = James|date =Spring 2003|journal = Labor Law Journal}}</ref> An example of private sector whistleblowing is when an employee reports to someone in a higher position such as a manager or to external factors, such as their lawyer or the police. Whistleblowing in the private sector is typically not high-profile or openly discussed in major news outlets, though occasionally, third parties expose human rights violations and exploitation of workers.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Where am I wearing?|last = Timmerman|first = Kelsey|publisher = California: Wiley|year = 2012}}</ref>

Many governments attempt to protect such whistleblowers. In the United States, for example, there are organizations such as the [[United States Department of Labor]] (DOL) and laws such as the [[Sarbanes–Oxley Act|Sarbanes-Oxley Act]] and the [[United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines]] for Organizations (FSGO) that protect whistleblowers in the private sector. Thus, despite government efforts to help regulate the private sector, the employees must still weigh their options. They either expose the company and stand the moral and ethical high ground; or expose the company, lose their job, their reputation and potentially the ability to be employed again. According to a study at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], out of three hundred whistleblowers studied, sixty-nine percent had foregone that exact situation and were either fired or forced to retire after taking the ethical high ground. It is outcomes like these that make it all that much harder to accurately track the prevalence of whistleblowing in the private sector.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Case 10th Edition|publisher=O.C. Ferrell, John Fraedich, Linda Ferrell|year=2014|isbn=978-1285423715|pages=193|via=Cengage Learning}}</ref>

==== Public sector whistleblowing ====
[[File:Praha, Magistrát, konference, Libor Michálek.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Czech whistleblower [[Libor Michálek]] was fired from his position after exposing high-level corruption.]]

Public sector whistleblowing is connected to the concept of [[public service motivation]], where a public servant's [[Altruism|altruistic]] alignment to the people or communities they service overrides their adherence to their employer's rules.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Latan |first1=Hengky |last2=Chiappetta Jabbour |first2=Charbel Jose |last3=Ali |first3=Murad |last4=Lopes de Sousa Jabbour |first4=Ana Beatriz |last5=Vo-Thanh |first5=Tan |date=2023 |title=What Makes You a Whistleblower? A Multi-Country Field Study on the Determinants of the Intention to Report Wrongdoing |journal=Journal of Business Ethics |volume=183 |issue=3 |pages=885–905 |doi=10.1007/s10551-022-05089-y |issn=0167-4544 |pmc=8949648 |pmid=35350831}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Euipyo |last2=Lewis-Liu |first2=Tinganxu |last3=Khurana |first3=Shaun |last4=Lu |first4=Ming |date=2023-08-24 |title=A systematic review of the link between public service motivation and ethical outcomes |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23276665.2023.2247101 |journal=Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration |pages=1–28 |doi=10.1080/23276665.2023.2247101 |issn=2327-6665}}</ref> This connection has been demonstrated by research in many different countries, including the Poland,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prysmakova |first1=Palina |last2=Evans |first2=Michelle D. |date=March 2022 |title=Whistleblowing Motivation and Gender: Vignette-Based Study in a Local Government |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Whistleblowing-Motivation-and-Gender:-Study-in-a-Prysmakova-Evans/e74624a05ca6c8756ae91447cf145c09563b1e6e |journal=Review of Public Personnel Administration |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=165–190 |doi=10.1177/0734371X20967982 |issn=0734-371X}}</ref> Thailand<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Potipiroon |first=Wisanupong |date=June 2024 |title=Reward Expectancy and External Whistleblowing: Testing the Moderating Roles of Public Service Motivation, Seriousness of Wrongdoing, and Whistleblower Protection |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00910260231222814 |journal=Public Personnel Management |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=309–345 |doi=10.1177/00910260231222814 |issn=0091-0260}}</ref> and United States of America.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Caillier |first=James Gerard |date=October 2017 |title=Public Service Motivation and Decisions to Report Wrongdoing in U.S. Federal Agencies: Is This Relationship Mediated by the Seriousness of the Wrongdoing |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0275074015626299 |journal=The American Review of Public Administration |volume=47 |issue=7 |pages=810–825 |doi=10.1177/0275074015626299 |issn=0275-0740}}</ref>

Recognition of the value of public sector whistleblowing has been growing over the last 50 years. Many jurisdictions have passed legislation to protect public service whistleblowing in part as a way to address unethical behaviour and corruption within public service agencies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whistleblower Laws Around the World |url=https://www.whistleblowers.org/whistleblower-laws-around-the-world/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=National Whistleblower Center }}</ref>

In the United States, for example, both state and [[Federal statute]]s have been put in place to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. The [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled that public sector whistleblowers are protected from retaliation by their [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] rights.<ref name="Lehman-2005">{{cite book |last1=Lehman |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Phelps |first2=Shirelle |title=West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Vol. 10 |date=2005 |publisher=Thomson/Gale |location=Detroit |isbn=9780787663773 |page=355 |edition=2}}</ref> After many federal whistleblowers were covered in high-profile media cases, laws were finally introduced to protect government whistleblowers. These laws were enacted to help prevent corruption and encourage people to expose misconduct, illegal, or dishonest activity for the good of society.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/009102601104000405 |title = Whistleblower Retaliation in the Public Sector|journal = Public Personnel Management|volume = 40|issue = 4|pages = 341–348|year = 2011|last1 = Lee|first1 = Katie|last2 = Kleiner|first2 = Brian|s2cid = 153833481}}</ref> People who choose to act as whistleblowers often suffer [[retaliation]] from their employer. They most likely are fired because they are an [[at-will employee]], which means they can be fired without a reason. There are exceptions in place for whistleblowers who are at-will employees. Even without a statute, numerous decisions encourage and protect whistleblowing on grounds of public policy. Statutes state that an employer shall not take any adverse employment actions against any employee in retaliation for a good-faith report of a whistleblowing action or cooperating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit arising under said action.<ref name="Lehman-2005" /> Federal whistleblower legislation includes a statute protecting all government employees. In the federal civil service, the government is prohibited from taking, or threatening to take, any personnel action against an employee because the employee disclosed information that they reasonably believed showed a violation of law, gross mismanagement, and gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to [[public safety]] or health. To prevail on a claim, a federal employee must show that a protected disclosure was made, that the accused official knew of the disclosure, that retaliation resulted, and that there was a genuine connection between the retaliation and the employee's action.<ref name="Lehman-2005" />

====Whistleblowing in the scientific community====

Research fraud involves data, processes, or observations that were never there to begin with or later added on to fit a claim or narrative. A case involving the scientific community engaging in research fraudulence is that of [[Cyril Burt|Dr. Cyril Burt]]. Dr Cyril Burt was a British psychologist who proposed that he had discovered a [[heritable]] factor for intelligence based on studying twins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Samelson |first=Franz |date=1997-03-01 |title=What to do about fraud charges in science; or, will the Burt affair ever end? |url=https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018302319394 |journal=Genetica |volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=145–151 |doi=10.1023/A:1018302319394 |s2cid=263402190 |issn=1573-6857}}</ref> [[Oliver Gillie|Dr. Oliver Gillie]], a former colleague of Dr. Burt, inquired about Dr. Burt’s work, doubting the authenticity of the data and the certain twins that Dr. Burt was basing his research on. Dr. Gillies's inquiry revealed that there were discrepancies to Dr. Burt’s work with inconsistencies in the twin's birth dates  particularly with the absence of records for twins to participate in the study, the falsification of data, and the “invention of crucial facts to support his controversial theory that intelligence is largely inherited.” <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gillie |first=Oliver |date=1977 |title=Did Sir Cyril Burt Fake His Research on Heritability of Intelligence? Part I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20298643 |journal=The Phi Delta Kappan |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=469–471 |jstor=20298643 |issn=0031-7217}}</ref>  This led to the eventual retraction of Dr. Burt’s work.

[[Data manipulation]] is the changing or omitting of data or outcomes in such a way that the research is not accurately portrayed in the research record. [[Hwang Woo-Suk|Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk]], a South Korean [[stem cell]] researcher gained international recognition for his groundbreaking work on cloning and stem cell research. Dr. Woo-Suk had a claim to successfully clone human embryos and derived patient-specific stem cell lines, forwarding the field of regenerative medicine which was published in the [[Science (journal)|''Journal of Science''.]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=Woo Suk |last2=Roh |first2=Sung Il |last3=Lee |first3=Byeong Chun |last4=Kang |first4=Sung Keun |last5=Kwon |first5=Dae Kee |last6=Kim |first6=Sue |last7=Kim |first7=Sun Jong |last8=Park |first8=Sun Woo |last9=Kwon |first9=Hee Sun |last10=Lee |first10=Chang Kyu |last11=Lee |first11=Jung Bok |last12=Kim |first12=Jin Mee |last13=Ahn |first13=Curie |last14=Paek |first14=Sun Ha |last15=Chang |first15=Sang Sik |date=2005-06-17 |title=Patient-Specific Embryonic Stem Cells Derived from Human SCNT Blastocysts |journal=Science |volume=308 |issue=5729 |pages=1777–1783 |doi=10.1126/science.1112286 |pmid=15905366 |bibcode=2005Sci...308.1777H |s2cid=86634281 |issn=0036-8075|doi-access=free }}{{Retracted|doi=10.1126/science.1124926|pmid=16410485|http://retractionwatch.com/?s=woo+suk+hwang ''Retraction Watch''|intentional=yes}}</ref> Dr. Kim Seon-Jung expressed his concerns regarding the accuracy of the research data and the ethical conduct of the experiments. Independent committees, as well as journalists, scrutinized the research data and methodology leading to an eventual retraction of his work.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van der Heyden |first1=M. A. G. |last2=van de Derks Ven |first2=T. |last3=Opthof |first3=T. |date=2009-01-01 |title=Fraud and misconduct in science: the stem cell seduction |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03086211 |journal=Netherlands Heart Journal |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=25–29 |doi=10.1007/BF03086211 |issn=1876-6250 |pmc=2626656 |pmid=19148335}}</ref>

Ethical violations can fall under the following: altering or making up new data to meet a specific goal, adjusting how data is shown or explained, looking at data in a biased manner, and leaving out parts about data analysis and conclusions. [[Paolo Macchiarini|Dr. Paolo Macchiarini]] is well-known within the scientific community as a thoracic surgeon and former regenerative researcher. Dr Macchiarini claimed to have made profound advancements in [[trachea]] transplantation by using synthetic tracheal scaffolds planted with the patient’s own stem cells. The goal was that the stem cells would eventually provide the patient with a suitable replacement trachea.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Ethical perspectives and ramifications of the Paolo Macchiarini case |url=http://ijme.in/articles/ethical-perspectives-and-ramifications-of-the-paolo-macchiarini-case/?galley=html |access-date=2023-10-31 |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Ethics | date=2017 |doi=10.20529/ijme.2017.048 | last1=Da Silva | first1=Jaime A Teixeira | volume=2 | issue=4 | pages=270–275 | pmid=28343147 | s2cid=35776559 }}</ref> Dr. Karl-Henrik Grinnemo, a member of Dr. Machiarini’s research team, raised concerns about the accuracy of the reported results and the ethical conduct of the experiments. Dr. Macchiarini’s ethical violations include exaggeration of success, failure to disclose the adverse post-operational effects, and complications of the surgery. Patients experienced severe health problems; several died post-surgery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=hovrätt |first=Svea |date=2023-06-21 |title=Svea Court of Appeal passes its judgment in a case regarding three acts of gross assault at Karolinska Hospital in Huddinge and Solna between 2011 and 2012 |url=https://www.domstol.se/svea-hovratt/nyheter/2023/06/svea-court-of-appeal-passes-its-judgment-in-a-case-regarding-three-acts-of-gross-assault-at-karolinska-hospital-in-huddinge-and-solna-between-2011-and-2012/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Svea hovrätt |language=sv}}</ref> The acts of Dr. Macchiarini led to the retractions of research articles from the [[The Lancet|Lancet]], the termination of his academic positions, and [[Criminal inquiry|criminal inquiries]] in Sweden. It also sparked concerns over the supervision and control of clinical trials utilizing experimental techniques.

===Risks===
Individual harm, damage to public trust, and threats to national security are three categories of harm that may come as a result of whistleblowing. Revealing a whistleblower's identity can automatically put their life in danger. Some media outlets associate words like "traitor" and "treason" with whistleblowers, and in many countries around the world, the punishment for treason is the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]], even if whoever allegedly committed treason may not have caused anyone physical harm. In some instances, whistleblowers must flee their country to avoid public scrutiny, threats of death or physical harm, and in some cases criminal charges.

Whistleblowers are often protected under law from employer retaliation, but in many cases, punishment such as [[termination of employment|termination]], [[suspension (punishment)|suspension]], [[demotion]], [[wage garnishment]], and/or harsh [[mistreatment]] by other employees occurs.<ref>[[Public Concern at Work]] (2013) [http://www.pcaw.org.uk/files/Whistleblowing%20-%20the%20inside%20story%20FINAL.pdf Whistleblowing: The Inside Story – A study of the experiences of 100 whistleblowers] [[University of Greenwich]] research report</ref> A 2009 study found that up to 38% of whistleblowers experienced professional retaliation in some form, including wrongful termination.{{Citation needed|reason=previous citation of "Miceli, M. P., Near, J. P., & Dworkin, T. M. (2009). Journal of Business Ethics." didn't clearly indicate a source that supports the claim.|date=January 2017}} Following dismissal, whistleblowers may struggle to find employment due to damaged reputations, poor references, and [[blacklisting]]. The [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] impact of whistleblowing through loss of livelihood and family strain may also impact whistleblowers' psychological well-being. Whistleblowers often experience immense stress as a result of litigation regarding harms such as unfair dismissal, which they often face with little or no support from unions. Whistleblowers who continue to pursue their concerns may also face long battles with official bodies such as regulators and government departments.<ref name="Eye" /><ref name="first" /> Such bodies may reproduce the "institutional silence" adopted by employers, adding to whistleblowers' stress and difficulties.<ref name="Parliament">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpubacc/593/593.pdf Public Accounts Committee Report of Inquiry into Whistleblowing, Ninth Report of Session 2014–15])</ref> Thus, whistleblowers often suffer great injustice that is never acknowledged or rectified.<ref name="Lennane2" />

In a few cases, however, harm is done by the whistleblower to innocent people.<ref name="Gold-2019">{{Cite web|url=https://thewalrus.ca/the-whistle-blower-who-got-it-wrong/|title=The Whistle-blower Who Got It Wrong|last=Gold|first=Kerry|date=14 August 2019|website=The Walrus|access-date=25 August 2019}}</ref> Whistleblowers can make unintentional mistakes, and investigations can be tainted by the fear of negative publicity.<ref name="Gold-2019" /> An example occurred in the [[Health Canada|Canadian health ministry]], when a new employee wrongly concluded that nearly every research contract she saw in 2012 involved malfeasance.<ref name="Gold-2019" /><ref name="British Columbia Office of the Ombudsperson-2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcombudsperson.ca/documents/misfire-2012-ministry-health-employment-terminations-and-related-matters|title=Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters {{!}} Office of the Ombudsperson|date=6 April 2017|website=British Columbia Office of the Ombudsperson|access-date=25 August 2019|archive-date=25 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825222942/https://www.bcombudsperson.ca/documents/misfire-2012-ministry-health-employment-terminations-and-related-matters|url-status=dead}}</ref> The end result was the sudden firing of seven people, false and public threats of a criminal investigation, and the death of one researcher by suicide.<ref name="Gold-2019" /><ref name="British Columbia Office of the Ombudsperson-2017" /> The government ultimately paid the victims millions of dollars for lost pay, slander, and other harms, in addition to [[Canadian dollar|CA $]]2.41&nbsp;million spent on the subsequent 2015 investigation into the false charges.<ref name="Gold-2019" /><ref name="British Columbia Office of the Ombudsperson-2017" />

===Attitudes toward whistleblowers===
[[File:Mordechai Vanunu 2009.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Mordechai Vanunu]] spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 in solitary confinement.]]

Whistleblowers are seen by some as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; others view them as "traitors" or "defectors". Some even accuse them of solely pursuing personal glory and fame, or view their behavior as motivated by greed in [[qui tam]] cases.{{Citation needed|reason=By whom?|date=January 2022}}  Culturally it still has connotations of betrayal, from 'snitching' at one level to 'denunciations' at the other. Speaking out is difficult, especially in a culture where this is not promoted or even actively discouraged.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGeachie |first=SM |date=February 12, 2014 |title=How to make whistleblowing work |url=https://www.goodcorporation.com/goodblog/making-whistleblowing-work-2/ |website=Good Corporation}}</ref> Some academics (such as [[Thomas Faunce]]) feel that whistleblowers should at least be entitled to a [[rebuttable presumption]] that they are attempting to apply ethical principles in the face of obstacles and that whistleblowing would be more respected in [[governance]] systems if it had a firmer academic basis in [[virtue ethics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1007/BF03351419|pmid = 15688511|title = Developing and teaching the virtue-ethics foundations of healthcare whistle blowing|journal = Monash Bioethics Review|volume = 23|issue = 4|pages = 41–55|year = 2004|last1 = Faunce|first1 = Thomas|ssrn=1408402|s2cid = 1416298}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 17970253|year = 2007|last1 = Faunce|first1 = T. A.|title = Whistleblowing and scientific misconduct: Renewing legal and virtue ethics foundations|journal = Medicine and Law|volume = 26|issue = 3|pages = 567–84|last2 = Jefferys|first2 = S.|ssrn=1406286}}</ref>

It is likely that many people do not even consider whistleblowing not only because of fear of retaliation but also because of fear of losing relationships both at and outside work.<ref>Rowe, Mary & Bendersky, Corinne, "Workplace Justice, Zero Tolerance and Zero Barriers: Getting People to Come Forward in Conflict Management Systems," in ''Negotiations and Change, From the Workplace to Society'', Thomas Kochan and Richard Locke (eds), Cornell University Press, 2002. See also "Dealing with&nbsp;— or Reporting&nbsp;— 'Unacceptable' Behavior (With additional thoughts about the 'Bystander Effect')" ©2009Mary Rowe MIT, Linda Wilcox HMS, Howard Gadlin NIH, ''Journal of the International Ombudsman Association'' 2(1), online at [http://www.ombudsassociation.org/publications/journal/ ombudsassociation.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504071949/http://www.ombudsassociation.org/publications/journal/ |date=4 May 2009 }}</ref>

Persecution of whistleblowers has become a serious issue in many parts of the world:

<blockquote>
Employees in academia, business or government might become aware of serious risks to health and the environment, but internal policies might pose threats of retaliation to those who report these early warnings. Private company employees in particular might be at risk of being fired, demoted, denied raises and so on for bringing environmental risks to the attention of appropriate authorities. Government employees could be at a similar risk for bringing threats to health or the environment to public attention, although perhaps this is less likely.<ref name=late>{{cite web |url=http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/late-lessons-2 |title=Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation: Full Report |author=European Environment Agency) |date=January 23, 2013 |page=614 }}</ref>
</blockquote>

There are examples of "early warning scientists" being harassed for bringing inconvenient truths about impending harm to the notice of the public and authorities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=European Environment Agency Report |title=Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation |date=23 January 2013 |publisher=European Environment Agency |isbn=978-92-9213-356-6 |page=581 |url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/late-lessons-2 |access-date=13 May 2021}}</ref> There have also been cases of young scientists being discouraged from entering controversial scientific fields for fear of [[harassment]].<ref name=late/>

In order to help whistleblowers, private organizations have formed whistleblower [[legal defense fund]]s or support groups. Examples include the [[National Whistleblower Center]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whistleblowers.org/ |title=whistleblowers.org |publisher=whistleblowers.org |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> in the United States and Whistleblowers UK<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbuk.org/ |title=wbuk.org |publisher=wbuk.org |access-date=30 January 2017}}</ref> and [[Public Concern at Work]] (PCaW)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcaw.co.uk |title=pcaw.co.uk |publisher=pcaw.co.uk |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> in the United Kingdom. Depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for whistleblowers to be ostracized by their coworkers, discriminated against by future potential employers, or even fired from their organization. A campaign directed at whistleblowers with the goal of eliminating them from the organization is referred to as [[mobbing]]. It is an extreme form of [[workplace bullying]] wherein the group is set against the targeted individual.<ref>Matthiesen SB, Bjorkelo B, Burke RJ "Workplace Bullying as the Dark Side of Whistleblowing" in Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice (2012)</ref>

===Psychological impact===
There is limited research on the psychological impacts of whistle blowing. However, poor experiences with whistleblowing can cause a prolonged and prominent assault on the well-being of the whistleblower. As workers attempt to address concerns, they are often met with a wall of silence and hostility by management or colleagues.<ref>Drew D (29 January 2015) [https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2015/jan/29/francis-review-nhs-whistleblower-report Francis NHS whistleblower report: a new beginning?] The Guardian</ref> [[Major depressive disorder|Depression]] is often reported by whistleblowers, and [[suicidal thoughts]] may occur in up to about 10%.<ref>Farnsworth CH (22 February 1987) [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/22/us/survey-of-whistle-blowers-finds-retaliation-but-few-regrets.html Survey of Whistleblowers finds retaliation, but few regrets] The New York Times</ref><ref name="Lennane">{{Cite journal |pmc = 1678979|year = 1993|last1 = Lennane|first1 = K. J.|title = "Whistleblowing": A health issue|journal = British Medical Journal |volume = 307|issue = 6905|pages = 667–670|pmid = 8401056|doi = 10.1136/bmj.307.6905.667}}</ref> General deterioration in health and self care has been described.<ref>Greaves R, McGlone JK (2012) [http://www.socialmedicine.info/socialmedicine/index.php/socialmedicine/article/view/584 The Health Consequences of Speaking Out] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109090840/http://www.socialmedicine.info/socialmedicine/index.php/socialmedicine/article/view/584 |date=9 November 2019 }} Social Medicine Vol 6, No 4 P259-263</ref> The range of symptomatology shares many of the features of [[posttraumatic stress disorder]], though there is debate about whether the trauma experienced by whistleblowers meets diagnostic thresholds.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1108/02683941311321178 |title = Workplace bullying after whistleblowing: Future research and implications|journal = Journal of Managerial Psychology|volume = 28|issue = 3|pages = 306–323|year = 2013|last1 = Bjørkelo|first1 = Brita|hdl = 11250/174696|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Increased [[Occupational stress|stress]]-related physical illness has also been described in whistleblowers.<ref name="Lennane" /><ref>Lennane J (17 November 1995) [https://documents.uow.edu.au/~bmartin/dissent/documents/Lennane_canary.html The canary down the mine: what whistleblowers' health tells us about their environment] Paper given at Department of Criminology, Melbourne University, conference: "Whistleblowers: protecting the nation's conscience?"</ref>

The stresses involved in whistleblowing can be huge and may deter whistleblowing out of fear of failure and reprisals.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.7748/ns2014.02.28.24.14.s19 | pmid=24517665| title=Survey highlights slow progress in increasing staff whistleblowing| journal=Nursing Standard| volume=28| issue=24| pages=14–15| year=2014| last1=Sprinks| first1=Jennifer}}</ref> Some whistleblowers speak of overwhelming and persistent distress, drug and alcohol problems, [[paranoid]] behavior at work, acute [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]], [[nightmares]], [[Flashback (psychology)|flashbacks]], and [[intrusive thoughts]].<ref name="Peters">{{Cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=K. |last2=Luck |first2=L. |last3=Hutchinson |first3=M. |last4=Wilkes |first4=L. |last5=Andrew |first5=S. |last6=Jackson |first6=D. |year=2011 |title=The emotional sequelae of whistleblowing: Findings from a qualitative study |url=https://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2143&context=hahs_pubs |journal=Journal of Clinical Nursing |volume=20 |issue=19–20 |pages=2907–14 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03718.x |pmid=21627700}}</ref> This fear may indeed be justified because an individual who feels threatened by whistleblowing may plan the career destruction of the "complainant" by reporting fictitious errors or rumors.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1002/pnp.344|title = Tackling psychopathy: A necessary competency in leadership development?|journal = Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry|volume = 18|issue = 5|pages = 4–6|year = 2014|last1 = De Silva|first1 = Prasanna|doi-access = free}}</ref> This technique, labelled as "[[gaslighting]]", is a common approach used by organizations to manage employees who cause difficulty by raising concerns.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1192/bjp.131.5.533 | pmid=588872| title=The Gaslight Phenomenon—An Institutional Variant| journal=British Journal of Psychiatry| volume=131| issue=5| pages=533–534| year=1977| last1=Lund| first1=C. A.| last2=Gardiner| first2=A. Q.| s2cid=33671694}}</ref> In extreme cases, this technique involves the organization or manager proposing that the complainant's mental health is unstable.<ref name="Lennane2">Lennane J (May 2012) [http://www.bmartin.cc/dissent/documents/Lennane_what2.pdf What Happens to Whistleblowers and Why] Classics in Social Medicine Vol6 No4 P249-258</ref> Organizations also often attempt to [[ostracize]] and [[Isolation to facilitate abuse|isolate]] whistleblowers by [[Social undermining|undermining]] their concerns by suggesting that they are groundless, carrying out inadequate investigations, or ignoring them altogether. Whistleblowers may also be disciplined, suspended, and reported to professional bodies upon manufactured pretexts.<ref name="Eye">Bousfield A (9 December 2011) [http://medicalharm.org/uncategorized/the-full-21-ways-to-skin-a-whistleblower/ 21 Ways To Skin An NHS Whistleblower] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322031225/http://medicalharm.org/uncategorized/the-full-21-ways-to-skin-a-whistleblower/ |date=22 March 2017 }} Medical Harm</ref><ref name="first">Patients First (23 Oct 2013) [http://www.patientsfirst.org.uk/?p=806 The Life Cycle of the Whistleblower])</ref>

Such extreme experiences of threat and loss inevitably cause severe distress and sometimes mental illness, sometimes lasting for years afterwards. This mistreatment also deters others from coming forward with concerns. Thus, poor practices remain hidden behind a wall of silence, and prevent any organization from experiencing the improvements that may be afforded by intelligent failure.<ref name="Peters" /><ref name="Parliament" /> Some whistleblowers who break ranks with their organizations have had their mental stability questioned, such as [[Adrian Schoolcraft]], the [[NYPD]] veteran who alleged falsified crime statistics in his department and was forcibly committed to a mental institution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/cop-nypd-psych-ward-whistleblowing/|title=Cop hauled off to psych ward after alleging fake crime stats|website=www.rawstory.com|date=10 October 2010|access-date=8 December 2014|archive-date=9 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109172632/http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/cop-nypd-psych-ward-whistleblowing/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Conversely, the emotional strain of a whistleblower investigation is devastating to the accused's family.<ref name="tbo.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/william-mcraven-a-warriors-career-sacrificed-for-politics-20160424/|title=William McRaven: A warrior's career sacrificed for politics|date=24 April 2016|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125041944/https://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/william-mcraven-a-warriors-career-sacrificed-for-politics-20160424/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Ethics===
Ethics is the set of moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. Deeper questions and theories of whistleblowing and why people choose to do so can be studied through an ethical approach. Whistleblowing is a topic of several myths and inaccurate definitions. Leading arguments in the ideological camp maintain that whistleblowing is the most basic of ethical traits and simply telling the truth to stop illegal harmful activities or fraud against the government/taxpayers.<ref name="Delmas2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Delmas |first1=Candice |year=2015 |title=The Ethics of Government Whistleblowing |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/DELTEO-20 |journal=Social Theory and Practice |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=77–105 |doi=10.5840/soctheorpract20154114 |jstor=24332319|s2cid=146469089 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alford |first1=C. Fred |year=2001 |title=Whistleblowers and the Narrative of Ethics |journal=Journal of Social Philosophy |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=402–418 |doi=10.1111/0047-2786.00103}}</ref> In the opposite camp, many corporations and corporate or government leaders see whistleblowing as being disloyal for breaching confidentiality, especially in industries that handle sensitive client or patient information.<ref name="Delmas2015" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Firtko |first1=A. |last2=Jackson |first2=D. |year=2005 |title=Do the ends justify the means? Nursing and the dilemma of whistleblowing |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7280254 |journal=The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=51–6 |pmid=16496818 |hdl=10822/979112}}</ref> Hundreds of laws grant protection to whistleblowers, but stipulations can easily cloud that protection and leave them vulnerable to retaliation and sometimes even threats and physical harm. However, the decision and action has become far more complicated with recent advancements in technology and communication.<ref name="Delmas2015" />

The ethical implications of whistleblowing can be negative as well as positive. Some have argued that public sector whistleblowing plays an important role in the democratic process by resolving [[principal–agent problem]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Coyne|first1=Christopher J.|last2=Goodman|first2=Nathan|last3=Hall|first3=Abigail R.|date=22 December 2018|title=Sounding the Alarm: The Political Economy of Whistleblowing in the US Security State|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/peps/25/1/article-20180024.xml|journal=Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy|volume=25|issue=1|doi=10.1515/peps-2018-0024|s2cid=158778276}}</ref> However, sometimes employees may blow the whistle as an act of revenge. [[Rosemary O'Leary]] explains this in her short volume on a topic called guerrilla government. "Rather than acting openly, guerrillas often choose to remain "in the closet", moving clandestinely behind the scenes, salmon swimming upstream against the current of power. Over the years, I have learned that the motivations driving guerrillas are diverse. The reasons for acting range from the [[altruistic]] (doing the right thing) to the seemingly petty (I was passed over for that promotion). Taken as a whole, their acts are as awe inspiring as saving human lives out of a love of humanity and as trifling as slowing the issuance of a report out of spite or anger."<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerrilla Government|last = O'Leary|first = Rosemary|publisher = CQ|year = 2006|location = Washington D.C.}}</ref> For example, of the more than 1,000 whistleblower complaints that are filed each year with the [[Office of the Inspector General of the United States Army|Pentagon's Inspector General]], about 97 percent are not substantiated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/25/commander-of-bin-laden-raid-blasts-senate-for-disrespecting-military-leaders/|title=Commander of bin Laden raid blasts Senate for disrespecting military leaders|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> It is believed throughout the professional world that an individual is bound to secrecy within their work sector. Discussions of whistleblowing and employee loyalty usually assume that the concept of loyalty is irrelevant to the issue or more commonly, that whistleblowing involves a moral choice that pits the loyalty that an employee owes an employer against the employee's responsibility to serve the public interest.<ref name="Larmer-1992">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/BF00872319 | title=Whistleblowing and employee loyalty| journal=Journal of Business Ethics| volume=11| issue=2| pages=125–128| year=1992| last1=Larmer| first1=Robert A.|jstor=25072254|hdl=10822/853647| s2cid=145249571| url=https://philarchive.org/rec/LARWAE}}</ref> Robert A. Larmer describes the standard view of whistleblowing in the ''[[Journal of Business Ethics]]'' by explaining that an employee possesses prima facie (based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise) duties of loyalty and confidentiality to their employers and that whistleblowing cannot be justified except on the basis of a higher duty to the [[Public benefit|public good]].<ref name="Larmer-1992" /> It is important to recognize that in any relationship which demands loyalty the relationship works both ways and involves mutual enrichment.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Whistleblowing and Employee Loyalty|last = Duska|first = Ronald|date = February 1992|journal = Journal of Business Ethics|url=https://philosophia.uncg.edu/media/phi361-metivier/readings/Duska-Whistle-Blowing%20and%20Loyalty.pdf}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2020}}

The ethics of [[Edward Snowden|Edward Snowden's]] actions have been widely discussed and debated in news media and academia worldwide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Mark |date=2015 |title=Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor? Considering the Implications for Canadian National Security and Whistleblower Law |url=https://digitalcommons.schulichlaw.dal.ca/djls/vol24/iss1/1/|journal=Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies |volume=24 |pages=1}}</ref> Snowden released [[Classified information|classified]] intelligence to the American people in an attempt to allow Americans to see the inner workings of the government. A person is diligently tasked with the [[wikt:conundrum|conundrum]] of choosing to be loyal to the company or to blow the whistle on the company's wrongdoing. Discussions on whistleblowing generally revolve around three topics: attempts to define whistleblowing more precisely, debates about whether and when whistleblowing is permissible, and debates about whether and when one has an obligation to blow the whistle.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Issues in Business Ethics|publisher = Springer|year = 2007|pages = 139–147}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2020}}

===Motivations===
Many whistleblowers have stated that they were motivated to take action to put an end to unethical practices after witnessing injustices in their businesses or organizations.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/pro0000038 | title=Using scholarship on whistleblowing to inform peer ethics reporting| journal=Professional Psychology: Research and Practice| volume=46| issue=4| pages=298–305| year=2015| last1=Rice| first1=Alexander J.}}</ref> A 2009 study found that whistleblowers are often motivated to take action when they notice a sharp decline in ethical practices, as opposed to a gradual worsening.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.013 |title = When misconduct goes unnoticed: The acceptability of gradual erosion in others' unethical behavior|journal = Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume = 45|issue = 4|pages = 708–719|year = 2009|last1 = Gino|first1 = Francesca|last2 = Bazerman|first2 = Max H.}}</ref> There are generally two metrics by which whistleblowers determine if a practice is [[unethical]]. The first metric involves a violation of the organization's bylaws or written ethical policies. These violations allow individuals to concretize and rationalize blowing the whistle.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1007/s10551-010-0591-1|title = From Inaction to External Whistleblowing: The Influence of the Ethical Culture of Organizations on Employee Responses to Observed Wrongdoing|journal = Journal of Business Ethics|volume = 98|issue = 3|pages = 513–530|year = 2011|last1 = Kaptein|first1 = Muel|url = http://repub.eur.nl/pub/16600|hdl = 1765/16600|s2cid = 55253548|hdl-access = free}}</ref> On the other hand, "value-driven" whistleblowers are influenced by their personal codes of ethics or by [[public service motivation]] which comes from an alignment of personal, cultural and organisational values. In these cases, whistleblowers have been criticized for being driven by personal biases.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.5465/ambpp.1992.17516217 | title=Whistleblowing: A Conceptualization and Model| journal=Academy of Management Proceedings| volume=1992| pages=348–352| year=1992| last1=Keenan| first1=John P.| last2=McLain| first2=David L.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276048406}}</ref>

In addition to ethics, social and organizational pressure are a motivating forces. A 2012 study shows that individuals are more likely to blow the whistle when others know about the wrongdoing, because they fear the consequences of keeping silent.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1007/s10551-011-0990-y|title = The Effects of Contextual and Wrongdoing Attributes on Organizational Employees' Whistleblowing Intentions Following Fraud|journal = Journal of Business Ethics|volume = 106|issue = 2|pages = 213–227|year = 2012|last1 = Robinson|first1 = Shani N.|last2 = Robertson|first2 = Jesse C.|last3 = Curtis|first3 = Mary B.|s2cid = 153653821|url=https://www.academia.edu/29417100}}</ref> In cases where one person is responsible for wrongdoing, the whistleblower may file a formal report, rather than directly confronting the wrongdoer, because confrontation would be more emotionally and psychologically stressful.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/0275074010375298| title=Managing Conflicting Public Values: Governing with Integrity and Effectiveness| journal=The American Review of Public Administration| volume=40| issue=6| pages=623–630| year=2010| last1=De Graaf| first1=Gjalt| last2=Van Der Wal| first2=Zeger| s2cid=219383880| url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/1fc1472e-64b5-45d7-b5db-fda8dd763d6c}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1080/00909880009365579|title = Peer reporting of coworker wrongdoing: A qualitative analysis of observer attitudes in the decision to report versus not report unethical behavior|journal = Journal of Applied Communication Research|volume = 28|issue = 4|pages = 309–329|year = 2000|last1 = King|first1 = Granville|last2 = Hermodson|first2 = Amy|s2cid = 145715363}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 256472|last1 = Trevino|first1 = Linda Klebe|title = Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior: A Social Context Perspective|journal = The Academy of Management Journal|volume = 35|issue = 1|pages = 38–64|last2 = Victor|first2 = Bart|year = 1992}}</ref> Furthermore, individuals may be motivated to report unethical behavior when they believe their organizations will support them.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 30040692|last1 = Gundlach|first1 = Michael J.|title = The Decision to Blow the Whistle: A Social Information Processing Framework|journal = The Academy of Management Review|volume = 28|issue = 1|pages = 107–123|last2 = Douglas|first2 = Scott C.|last3 = Martinko|first3 = Mark J.|year = 2003|doi = 10.5465/amr.2003.8925239}}</ref> Professionals in management roles may feel responsibility to blow the whistle to uphold the values and rules of their organizations.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1108/13639511311302461 |title = Why police officers and labour inspectors (do not) blow the whistle|journal = Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management|volume = 36|pages = 27–50|year = 2013|last1 = Loyens|first1 = Kim|hdl = 1874/309978| s2cid=142614344 |hdl-access = free}}</ref>

==Legal protection for whistleblowers==
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2021}}
{{See also |Public interest defence}}
Legal protection for whistleblowers varies from country to country and may depend on the country of the original activity, where and how secrets were revealed, and how they eventually became published or publicized. Over a dozen countries have now adopted comprehensive whistleblower protection laws that create mechanisms for reporting wrongdoing and provide legal protections. Over 50 countries have adopted more limited protections as part of their anti-corruption, freedom of information, or employment laws.<ref>Banisar, "Whistleblowing: International Standards and Developments", in CORRUPTION AND TRANSPARENCY: DEBATING THE FRONTIERS BETWEEN STATE, MARKET AND SOCIETY, I. Sandoval, ed., World Bank-Institute for Social Research, UNAM, Washington, D.C., 2011 available online at [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1753180 ssrn.com]</ref>

''For purposes of the English Wikipedia, this section emphasizes the English-speaking world and covers other regimes only insofar as they represent exceptionally greater or lesser protections.''

===Australia===
{{main|Whistleblower protection in Australia}}
There are laws in a number of states.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whistleblowers Australia |url=http://www.whistleblowers.org.au/ |publisher=Whistleblowers.org.au }}</ref> The former Australian intelligence officer known as ''[[Witness K]]'', who provided evidence of Australia's [[Australia–East Timor spying scandal|controversial spying operation]] against the government of [[East Timor]] in 2004, face the possibility of jail if convicted.<ref>{{cite news |title=Timor-Leste activists 'shocked' by Australia's prosecution of spy Witness K and lawyer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/22/timor-leste-activists-shocked-by-australias-prosecution-of-spy-witness-k-and-lawyer |work=The Guardian |date=21 July 2018}}</ref>

Whistleblowers Australia is an association for those who have exposed corruption or any form of malpractice, especially if they were then hindered or abused.<ref>{{cite web|author=Whistleblowers Australia |url=http://www.whistleblowers.org.au/ |title=Whistleblowers Australia |publisher=Whistleblowers.org.au |date=12 February 2012 |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref>

===Canada===
The [[Public Sector Integrity Commissioner]] (PSIC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psic-ispc.gc.ca/|title=Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada|first=Web Experience|last=Toolkit|website=www.psic-ispc.gc.ca}}</ref> provides a safe and confidential mechanism enabling public servants and the general public to disclose wrongdoings committed in the public sector. It also protects from reprisal public servants who have disclosed wrongdoing and those who have cooperated in investigations. The office's goal is to enhance public confidence in Canada's federal public institutions and in the integrity of public servants.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Government of Canada|first1=PSIC|title=Background, Objectives, Scope|url=http://www.psic.gc.ca/eng/content/background-objectives-scope|publisher=Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner|access-date=16 June 2014|archive-date=24 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224105846/http://www.psic.gc.ca/eng/content/background-objectives-scope|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Mandated by the ''[[Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act]]'', PSIC is a permanent and independent agent of [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]]. The act, which came into force in 2007, applies to most of the [[Structure of the Canadian federal government|federal public sector]], approximately 400,000 [[Public Service of Canada|public servants]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Government of Canada|first1=PSIC|title=The Servants Disclosure Protection Act|url=http://www.psic.gc.ca/eng/aboutus/psdpa|publisher=Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner|access-date=16 June 2014|date=10 September 2013|archive-date=1 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201071431/http://www.psic.gc.ca/eng/aboutus/psdpa|url-status=dead}}</ref> This includes government departments and agencies, parent Crown corporations, the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] and other federal public sector bodies.

Not all disclosures lead to an investigation as the act sets out the jurisdiction of the commissioner and gives the option not to investigate under certain circumstances. On the other hand, if PSIC conducts an investigation and finds no wrongdoing was committed, the commissioner must report his findings to the discloser and to the organization's chief executive. Also, reports of founded wrongdoing are presented before the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] and the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] in accordance with the act.

The act also established the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal (PSDPT) to protect public servants by hearing reprisal complaints referred by the [[Public Sector Integrity Commissioner]]. The tribunal can grant remedies in favour of complainants and order disciplinary action against persons who take reprisals.

===European Union===
The [[European Parliament]] approved a "Whistleblower Protection Directive" containing broad [[free speech]] protections for whistleblowers in both the [[public sector|public]] and the [[private sector|private]] sectors, including for journalists, in all [[member states of the European Union]]. The Directive prohibits direct or indirect retaliation against employees, current and former, in the public sector and the private sector. The Directive's protections apply to employees, to volunteers, and to those who assist them, including to [[civil society]] organizations and to journalists who report on their evidence. In October 2021, the EU Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Equality and the Rule of Law emphasized that ministries, as legal entities in the public sector, are also explicitly required to establish internal reporting channels for their employees.<ref>{{cite web |title=ANA LOGO |date=7 November 2021 |url=https://analogo.de/2021/11/07/eu-kommission-auch-ministerien-muessen-whistleblowerschutzkanaele-einrichten/ }}</ref> It provides equal rights for whistleblowers in the [[national security]] sector who challenge denial or removal of their [[security clearance]]s. Also, whistleblowers are protected from [[prosecutor|criminal prosecution]] and corporate lawsuits for damages resulting from their whistleblowing and provided with psychological support for dealing with harassment stress.<ref name="commondreams.org">[[Government Accountability Project]], 21 November 2018, "[https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/11/21/european-parliament-panel-approves-whistleblower-protections-all-eu-countries European Parliament Panel Approves Whistleblower Protections for all EU Countries]"</ref>

[[Good government]] observers have hailed the EU directive as setting "the global standard for [[best practice]] rights protecting freedom of speech where it counts the most—challenging abuses of power that betray the [[public trust]]," according to the U.S.-based [[Government Accountability Project]]. They have noted, however, that ambiguities remain in the directive regarding application in some areas, such as "duty speech", that is, when employees report the same information in the course of a job assignment, for example, to a supervisor, instead of whistleblowing as formal [[dissent]]. In fact, duty speech is how the overwhelming majority of whistleblowing information gets communicated and where the free flow of information is needed for an organization's proper functioning. However it is in response to such "duty speech" employee communication that the vast majority of retaliation against employees occurs. These observers have noted that the Directive must be understood as applying to protection against retaliation for such duty speech because without such an understanding the Directive will "miss the iceberg of what's needed".<ref name="commondreams.org"/>

==== France ====
In [[France]], several recent laws have established a protection regime for whistleblowers. Prior to 2016, there were several laws in force which created disparate legislation with sector-specific regimes. The 2016 law on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of economic life (known as the "Sapin 2 Law") provides for the first time a single legal definition of whistleblowers in France. It defines him or her as "''an individual who discloses or reports, in a disinterested manner and  in good faith, a crime or an offence, a serious and manifest breach of an  international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act  of an international organization adopted on the basis of such a commitment, of  the law or regulations, or a serious threat or harm to general interest, which  he or she has become personally aware of.''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sapin II Law: The New French Anticorruption System {{!}} La Loi Sapin II: Le nouveau dispositif français anti-corruption |url=https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2017/11/sapin-ii-law-the-new-french-anticorruption-system |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.morganlewis.com }}</ref> It excludes certain professional secrets such as national defense secrecy, medical secrecy or the secrecy of relations between a lawyer and his client.

In 2022, two laws are passed to transpose the [[Directive (European Union)|European Directive]] 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. One of them strengthens the role of the [[Défenseur des droits]] - the French [[ombudsman]] - tasked with advising and protecting whistleblowers. The second amends the Sapin 2 law to bring it into line with the directive and adds substantial guarantees not included in the directive among which:<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Whistleblowing International Network |title=The new French whistleblowing law: renewed hope for European whistleblowers? |website=www.whistleblowingmonitor.eu/blog |url=https://www.whistleblowingmonitor.eu/blog |access-date=2022-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LOI n° 2022-401 du 21 mars 2022 visant à améliorer la protection des lanceurs d'alerte |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000045388745 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref>

* The definition of whistleblowing in force under the "Sapin 2 Law" – which includes whistleblowing not based on work - has been maintained.
* The protection applies to any natural person who facilitates or assists whistleblowers – as required in the directive – but also to entities such as NGOs ([[Non-governmental organization]]s) or trade unions, which act as a facilitator. They are offered the same level of protection.
* Military personnel will now be afforded the same level of protection as other civil servants, so long as they do not disclose information that may harm national security.
* The law provides that whistleblowers may be granted financial assistance, when subjected to a suit, by making an application to a judge, who has the power to force the suing organization – the employer, for instance - to cover their legal fees and if their financial situation has deteriorated, their living expenses.
* The law provides that whistleblowers shall not incur criminal liability in respect to the acquisition of, or access to, the information that is reported or publicly disclosed. They cannot be sentenced for any offenses committed in order to gather proof or information as long as they obtained it in a lawful manner.
* The law strengthens existing sanctions against those who retaliate against whistleblowers: The criminal sanctions applicable to persons retaliating against whistleblowers can go up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of €45,000. The judges may impose €60,000 fines on companies taking a SLAPP action against a whistleblower.

The law allows any person to apply to the Défenseur des droits for an opinion on his or her status as a whistleblower. A response should be given within six months after receiving the application. The organic law provides that the Défenseur des droits will publish a report every two years on the overall functioning of whistleblower protection addressed to the [[President of France|French President of the Republic]], the President of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]], and the President of the [[Senate (France)|Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LOI organique n° 2022-400 du 21 mars 2022 visant à renforcer le rôle du Défenseur des droits en matière de signalement d'alerte |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFARTI000045388744 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref>

===Jamaica===
In [[Jamaica]], the Protected Disclosures Act, 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japarliament.gov.jm/attachments/341_The+Protected+Disclosures+Act,+2011.pdf|title=Acts List|first=Houses of|last=Parliament|website=www.japarliament.gov.jm}}</ref> received assent in March 2011. It creates a comprehensive system for the protection of whistleblowers in the public and private sectors. It is based on the [[Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998]].

===India===
{{main|Whistleblower protection in India}}
The [[Government of India]] had been considering adopting a whistleblower protection law for several years. In 2003, the Law Commission of India recommended the adoption of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Act, 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/179rptp2.pdf |title=Publin Interest Disclosure Bill |access-date=13 June 2013}}</ref> In August 2010, the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 was introduced into the [[Lok Sabha]], lower house of the [[Parliament of India]].<ref>The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 [http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/postoftheday/PIDPPMDBill-2010.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023210503/http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/postoftheday/PIDPPMDBill-2010.pdf|date=23 October 2016}}</ref> The Bill was approved by the cabinet in June 2011. The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 was renamed the Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 by the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Public%20Disclosure/Legislative%20Brief%20-%20Public%20Interest%20Disclosure%20Bil.pdf |title=Legislative Brief |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=24 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024235406/http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Public |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 28 December 2011.<ref>{{cite news|author=PTI |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2752946.ece |title=Whistle-blowers Bill passed |newspaper=The Hindu |date=28 December 2011 |access-date=8 July 2012 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> and by the Rajyasabha on 21 February 2014. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 has received the Presidential assent on 9 May 2014 and the same has been subsequently published in the official gazette of the Government of India on 9 May 2014 by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India.

===Iran===
In 2023, the [[Government of Iran|Iranian government]] made public whistleblowing punishable by law if a whistleblower reveals corruption to authorities that can't be proved.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irna.ir/amp/85198309/ | title=ایرادات شورای نگهبان به طرح حمایت از گزارشگران فساد رفع شد - ایرنا }}</ref>

===Ireland===
The [[government of Ireland]] committed to adopting a comprehensive whistleblower protection law in January 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=Whistleblower Bill to cover public and private sectors |newspaper=Irish Times |date=30 January 2011 |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0130/1224310944604.html |access-date=2 February 2012 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131012342/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0130/1224310944604.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) was passed in 2014. The law covers workers in the public and private sectors, and also includes contractors, trainees, agency staff, former employees and job seekers. A range of different types of misconduct may be reported under the law, which provides protections for workers from a range of employment actions as well as whistleblowers' identity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icsa.org.uk/ireland/knowledge-and-guidance/governance-and-directors/protected-disclosures-act-2014-a-new-era-for-whistleblowing-in-ireland|title=Protected Disclosures Act 2014 – a new era for whistleblowing in Ireland|website=www.icsa.org.uk|access-date=5 January 2019|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010230/https://www.icsa.org.uk/ireland/knowledge-and-guidance/governance-and-directors/protected-disclosures-act-2014-a-new-era-for-whistleblowing-in-ireland|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Netherlands===
[[Netherlands|The Netherlands]] has measures in place to mitigate the risks of whistleblowing: The House for Whistleblowers (Huis voor klokkenluiders) offers advice and support to whistleblowers, and the Parliament passed a proposal in 2016 to establish this house for whistleblowers, to protect them from the severe negative consequences that they might endure (Kamerstuk, 2013).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Koninkrijksrelaties|first=Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en|date=2019-10-09|title=English - Huisvoorklokkenluiders|url=https://www.huisvoorklokkenluiders.nl/english|access-date=2021-09-03|website=www.huisvoorklokkenluiders.nl|language=nl-NL}}</ref> Dutch media organizations also provide whistleblower support; on 9{{nbsp}}September 2013,<ref>{{cite web|title=Vanaf vandaag: anoniem lekken naar media via doorgeefluik Publeaks|url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2694/Tech-Media/article/detail/3506349/2013/09/09/Vanaf-vandaag-anoniem-lekken-naar-media-via-doorgeefluik-Publeaks.dhtml|publisher=volkskrant.nl|access-date=22 February 2014}}</ref> a number of major Dutch media outlets supported the launch of Publeaks,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publeaks.nl|title=Publeaks – Veilig en anoniem informatie delen met de pers|website=www.publeaks.nl}}</ref> which provides a secure website for people to leak documents to the media. Publeaks is designed to protect whistleblowers. It operates on the [[GlobaLeaks]] software developed by the Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://logioshermes.org/|title=HERMES Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights|website=logioshermes.org|access-date=24 February 2014|archive-date=1 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901141338/http://www.logioshermes.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> which supports whistleblower-oriented technologies internationally.<ref>{{cite web|title=Handling ethical problems in counterterrorism An inventory of methods to support ethical decisionmaking|url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR251/RAND_RR251.pdf|publisher=RAND Corporation|access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref>

=== New Zealand ===
In New Zealand the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 No 20 (as at 01 July 2024), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation |url=https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2022/0020/latest/whole.html |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=legislation.govt.nz}}</ref> provides protection to whistleblowers under some circumstances. A wide range of workers are covered, including employees, volunteers and contractors, and the legislation covers both public and private sector organisations.<ref name="ombudsman.parliament.nz">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-01 |title=Protections for whistleblowing {{!}} Ombudsman New Zealand |url=https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/what-we-can-help/serious-wrongdoing-work-whistle-blowing/protections-whistle-blowing |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=www.ombudsman.parliament.nz }}</ref> Protection is limited to serious misconduct, and disclosure by workers it does not cover others who learn of serious misconduct. To be protected by the Act the disclosure must be to an Appropriate Authority<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-01 |title=Make a protected disclosure {{!}} Ombudsman New Zealand |url=https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/make-protected-disclosure |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=www.ombudsman.parliament.nz }}</ref> this means that disclosure to the media is not protected. Whistleblowers covered by the Act are protected from civil, criminal and disciplinary procedures as well as retaliation, in most cases their identities must be kept confidential.<ref name="ombudsman.parliament.nz"/> The Act also requires that [[Public service]] agencies must have internal processes to support whistleblowing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 |url=https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/publications/protected-disclosures-act-2022 |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission }}</ref>

This Act replaced and extended the [[Protected Disclosures Act 2000]]. The genesis of the legislation was advocacy by [[John Robertson (ombudsman)|Sir John Robertson]] in the 1980s, at the time [[Office of the Ombudsman (New Zealand)|New Zealand's Chief Ombudsman]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Te Ara: Ombudsmen – whistleblowing |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/ombudsmen-and-officers-of-parliament/page-5 }}</ref> The subsequent high profile case of whistleblower Neil Pugmire who raised concerns about the release of dangerous mental health patients led to the 2000 act.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-28 |title=Law would not cover man who inspired it |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/law-would-not-cover-man-who-inspired-it/KGXONNNS2GQU4PLBGXXEOYZ6BU/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=NZ Herald }}</ref>

===Switzerland===
The Swiss [[Council of States (Switzerland)|Council of States]] agreed on a draft amendment of the [[Swiss Code of Obligations]] in September 2014. The draft introduces articles 321a<sup>bis</sup> to 321a<sup>septies</sup>, 328(3), 336(2)(d).<ref>{{cite web|title=Schutz bei Meldung von Unregelmässigkeiten am Arbeitsplatz|url=http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/federal-gazette/2013/9589.pdf|access-date=22 October 2014}}</ref> An amendment of article 362(1) adds articles 321a<sup>bis</sup> to 321a<sup>septies</sup> to the list of provisions that may not be overruled by labour and bargaining agreements.<br />
Article 321a<sup>ter</sup> introduces an obligation on employees to report irregularities to their employer before reporting to an authority. An employee will, however, not breach his duty of good faith if he reports an irregularity to an authority and
* a period set by the employer and no longer than 60 days has lapsed since the employee has reported the incident to his employer, and
* the employer has not addressed the irregularity or it is obvious that the employer has insufficiently addressed the irregularity.
Article 321a<sup>quarter</sup> provides that an employee may exceptionally directly report to an authority. Exceptions apply in cases
* where the employee is in a position to objectively demonstrate that a report to his employer will prove ineffective,
* where the employee has to anticipate dismissal,
* where the employee must assume that the competent authority will be hindered in investigating the irregularity, or
* where there is a direct and serious hazard to life, to health, to safety, or to the environment.
The draft does not improve on protection against dismissal for employees who report irregularities to their employer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Botschaft über die Teilrevision des Obligationenrechts |url=http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/federal-gazette/2013/9513.pdf|access-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> The amendment does not provide for employees [[Anonymity|anonymously]] filing their observations of irregularities.

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998}}
Whistleblowing in the United Kingdom is protected by the [[Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998]] (PIDA). Amongst other things, under the Act protected disclosures are permitted even if a [[non-disclosure agreement]] has been signed between the employer and the former or current employee; a consultation on further restricting confidentiality clauses was held in 2019.<ref name=consult>{{Cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/783011/confidentiality-clauses-consultation.pdf|title=Consultation on Confidentiality Clauses|website=UK [[Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy]]|date=March 2019}}</ref>

The [[Freedom to Speak Up Review]] sets out 20 principles to bring about improvements to help whistleblowers in the [[National Health Service|NHS]], including:
* Culture of raising concerns&nbsp;– to make raising issues a part of normal routine business of a well-led NHS organization.
* Culture free from bullying&nbsp;– freedom of staff to speak out relies on staff being able to work in a culture which is free from bullying.
* Training&nbsp;– every member of staff should receive training in their trust's approach to raising concerns and in receiving and acting on them.
* Support&nbsp;– all NHS trusts should ensure there is a dedicated person to whom concerns can be easily reported and without formality, a "speak up guardian".
* Support to find alternative employment in the NHS&nbsp;– where a worker who has raised a concern cannot, as a result, continue their role, the NHS should help them seek an alternative job.

[[Monitor (NHS)|Monitor]] produced a whistleblowing policy in November 2015 that all NHS organizations in England are obliged to follow. It explicitly says that anyone bullying or acting against a whistleblower could be potentially liable to disciplinary action.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monitor to reveal national whistleblowing policy|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/topics/workforce/exclusive-monitor-to-reveal-national-whistleblowing-policy/7000188.article|access-date=18 December 2015|publisher=Health Service Journal|date=16 November 2015}}</ref> An observational and interviewed-based study of more than 80 Guardians found that a lack of resources, especially time, reduced their ability to respond to concerns, and to analyse and learn from data. Guardians struggled to develop their role, and create a more positive culture in which staff felt free to voice concerns. Guardians found their role stressful and received little psychological support and as a result many did not intend to stay in their role for long.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Aled |last2=Maben |first2=Jill |last3=Adams |first3=Mary |last4=Mannion |first4=Russell |last5=Banks |first5=Carys |last6=Blake |first6=Joanne |last7=Job |first7=Kathleen |last8=Kelly |first8=Daniel |date=2022-08-15 |title=Implementation of 'Freedom to Speak Up Guardians' in NHS acute and mental health trusts in England: the FTSUG mixed-methods study |url=https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/GUWS9067/ |journal=Health and Social Care Delivery Research |volume=10 |issue=23 |pages=1–124 |doi=10.3310/GUWS9067|pmid=35995060 |s2cid=251606554 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=31 August 2023 |title=Freedom to Speak Up Guardians need more support, study finds |url=https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/freedom-to-speak-up-guardians-need-more-support-study-finds/ |journal=NIHR Evidence|doi=10.3310/nihrevidence_59584 |s2cid=261453359 }}</ref>

===United States===

{{main|Whistleblower protection in the United States}}
Whistleblowing tradition in what would soon become the United States had a start in 1773 with [[Benjamin Franklin]] leaking a few letters in the [[Hutchinson letters affair|Hutchinson affair]]. The release of the communications from royal governor [[Thomas Hutchinson (governor)|Thomas Hutchinson]] to [[Thomas Whately]] led to a firing, a duel and arguably, both through the many general impacts of the leak and its role in convincing Franklin to join the radicals' cause, the taking of another important final step toward the [[American Revolution]].

The first act of the [[Continental Congress]] in favor of what later came to be called whistleblowing came in the [[Esek Hopkins#Revolutionary War service|1777-8 case]] of [[Samuel Shaw (naval officer)|Samuel Shaw]] and [[Richard Marven]]. The two seamen accused Commander in Chief of the [[Continental Navy]] [[Esek Hopkins]] of torturing British prisoners of war. The Congress dismissed Hopkins and then agreed to cover the defense cost of the pair after Hopkins filed a libel suit against them under which they were imprisoned. Shaw and Marven were subsequently cleared in a jury trial.

To be considered a whistleblower in the United States, most federal whistleblower statutes require that [[federal employee]]s have reason to believe their employer violated some law, rule, or regulation; testify in or commence a legal proceeding on the legally protected matter; or refuse to violate the law.

In cases where whistleblowing on a specified topic is protected by statute, U.S. courts have generally held that such whistleblowers are protected from retaliation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oalj.dol.gov/PUBLIC/WHISTLEBLOWER/REFERENCES/REFERENCE_WORKS/EDIG12.HTM |title=DOL.gov |publisher=Oalj.dol.gov |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> However, a closely divided [[U.S. Supreme Court]] decision, ''[[Garcetti v. Ceballos]]'' (2006) held that the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] [[free speech]] guarantees for government employees do not protect disclosures made within the scope of the employees' duties.

In the United States, legal protections vary according to the subject matter of the whistleblowing and sometimes the state where the case arises.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peer.org/state/index.php |title=Peer.org |publisher=Peer.org |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> In passing the 2002 [[Sarbanes–Oxley Act]], the Senate Judiciary Committee found that whistleblower protections were dependent on the "patchwork and vagaries" of varying state statutes.<ref>Congressional Record p. S7412; S. Rep. No. 107–146, 107th Cong., 2d Session 19 (2002).</ref> Still, a wide variety of federal and state laws protect employees who call attention to violations, help with enforcement proceedings, or refuse to obey unlawful directions. While this patchwork approach has often been criticized, it is also responsible for the United States having more dedicated whistleblowing laws than any other country.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Transatlantic Whistleblowing.|last = Gerdemann|first = Simon|publisher = Mohr Siebeck|year = 2018|isbn = 978-3-16-155917-4}}</ref>

The first US law adopted specifically to protect whistleblowers was the 1863 United States [[False Claims Act]] (revised in 1986), which tried to combat fraud by suppliers of the United States government during the [[American Civil War]]. The act encourages whistleblowers by promising them a percentage of the money recovered by the government and by protecting them from employment retaliation.<ref name="answers1">{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/whistleblower |title=Answers.com |publisher=Answers.com |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref>

Another US law specifically protecting whistleblowers is the [[Lloyd–La Follette Act]] of 1912. It guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to the [[United States Congress]]. The first US [[environmental law]] to include an employee protection was the [[Clean Water Act]] of 1972. Similar protections are included in subsequent federal environmental laws, including the [[Safe Drinking Water Act]] (1974), [[Resource Conservation and Recovery Act]] (1976), [[Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976]], [[Energy Reorganization Act of 1974]] (through 1978 amendment to protect nuclear whistleblowers), [[Superfund|Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or the Superfund Law)]] (1980), and [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]] (1990). Similar employee protections enforced through OSHA are included in the [[Surface Transportation Assistance Act]] (1982) to protect truck drivers, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002, the [[Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century]] (AIR 21), and the [[Sarbanes–Oxley Act]], enacted on July 30, 2002 (for corporate fraud whistleblowers). More recent laws with some whistleblower protection include the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (ACA), [[Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act]] (CPSIA), Seamans Protection Act as amended by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (SPA), [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act|Consumer Financial Protection Act]] (CFPA), [[FDA Food Safety Modernization Act]] (FSMA), [[Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act]] (MAP-21), and [[Taxpayer First Act]] (TFA).

Investigation of retaliation against whistleblowers under 23 federal statutes falls under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Program (DWPP)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whistleblowers.gov |title=Whistleblowers.gov |publisher=Whistleblowers.gov |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> of the [[United States Department of Labor]]'s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov |title=DOL.gov |publisher=DOL.gov |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osha.gov |title=Osha.gov |publisher=Osha.gov |date=28 April 2012 |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> New whistleblower statutes enacted by Congress, which are to be enforced by the Secretary of Labor, are generally delegated by a Secretary's Order<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=21749 |title=Osha.gov |publisher=Osha.gov |access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> to the DWPP.

The patchwork of laws means that victims of retaliation need to be aware of the laws at issue to determine the deadlines and means for making proper complaints. Some deadlines are as short as 10 days (Arizona State Employees have 10 days to file a "Prohibited Personnel Practice" Complaint before the Arizona State Personnel Board), while others are up to 300 days.

Those who report a false claim against the federal government, and suffer adverse employment actions as a result, may have up to six years (depending on state law) to file a civil suit for remedies under the US [[False Claims Act]] (FCA).<ref>{{usc|31|3730}} (h)</ref> Under a ''[[qui tam]]'' provision, the "original source" for the report may be entitled to a percentage of what the government recovers from the offenders. However, the "original source" must also be the first to file a federal civil complaint for recovery of the federal funds fraudulently obtained, and must avoid publicizing the claim of fraud until the [[United States Department of Justice|US Justice Department]] decides whether to prosecute the claim itself. Such ''qui tam'' lawsuits must be filed under seal, using special procedures to keep the claim from becoming public until the federal government makes its decision on direct prosecution. Whistleblowers acting under the FCA are the primary enforcement tool used by the U.S. Department of Justice to target fraud, including overbilling to government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berry |first=Melissa |date=February 23, 2022 |title=US False Claims Act enforcements exceed $5.6 billion in 2021, mostly on health-care related claims |url=https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/investigation-fraud-and-risk/false-claims-enforcement/ |work=Thomson Reuters}}</ref>

[[File:Edward Snowden-2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|American whistleblower [[Edward Snowden]]]]

The [[Espionage Act of 1917]] has been used to prosecute whistleblowers in the United States including [[Edward Snowden]] and [[Chelsea Manning]]. In 2013, Manning was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking sensitive military documents to [[WikiLeaks]].<ref>Madar, Chase. "The Trials of Bradley Manning". Nation. 19 August 2013, Vol. 297 Issue 7/8, p12-17. 5p. Available online at: {{Cite news |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/trials-bradley-manning/ |title=The Trials of Bradley Manning |last=Madar |first=Chase |date=31 July 2013 |access-date=12 January 2020 |work=The Nation |archive-date=13 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113001432/https://www.thenation.com/article/trials-bradley-manning/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The same year, Snowden was charged with violating the Espionage Act for releasing confidential documents belonging to the [[National Security Agency|NSA]].<ref>Bamford, James. "Watch Thy Neighbor". Foreign Policy. Mar/Apr2016, Issue 217, p76-79. 3p. Available online at: {{Cite news |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/11/watch-thy-neighbor-nsa-security-spying-surveillance/ |title=Watch Thy Neighbor |last=Bamford |first=James |access-date=12 January 2020 |date=11 March 2016|work=Foreign Policy}}</ref>

Section 922 of the [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]] (Dodd-Frank) in the United States incentivizes and protects whistleblowers.<ref>"Dodd-Frank Section 922" (PDF). sec.gov.</ref> By Dodd-Frank, the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC) financially rewards whistleblowers for providing original information about violations of federal securities laws that results in sanctions of at least $1M.<ref name="Dodd">"Dodd-Frank Act Rulemaking: Whistleblower Program". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 26 October 2016.</ref><ref>Barthle II, Patrick A. "Whistling Rogues: A Comparative Analysis of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Bounty Program". Washington & Lee Law Review. Spring2012, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p1201-1257. 57p.</ref> Additionally, Dodd-Frank offers job security to whistleblowers by illegalizing termination or discrimination due to whistleblowing.<ref name="Dodd" /><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://lawspace.stmarytx.edu/item/Agarwal_Step11_McKeown_Final_v2.pdf|title=Anti-Retaliation Protection for Internal Whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank Following the Fifth Circuit's Decision in Asadi|first=Tapas|last=Agarwal|journal=St. Mary's Law Journal|date=2015|volume=46|issue=3|pages=421–431|access-date=13 January 2020|archive-date=13 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113001439/http://lawspace.stmarytx.edu/item/Agarwal_Step11_McKeown_Final_v2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 24770775|title = Protecting Whistleblower Protections in the Dodd–Frank Act|journal = Michigan Law Review|volume = 113|issue = 1|pages = 121–149|last1 = Leifer|first1 = Samuel C.|year = 2014|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol113/iss1/3}}</ref> The whistleblower provision has proven successful; after the enactment of Dodd-Frank, the SEC charged KBR (company) and BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (company) with violating the whistleblower protection Rule 21F-17 by having employees sign confidentiality agreements that threatened repercussions for discussing internal matters with outside parties.<ref>[https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-54.html "SEC: Companies Cannot Stifle Whistleblowers in Confidentiality Agreements"]. www.sec.gov. Retrieved 27 October 2016.</ref><ref>Hastings, Kathryn. "Keeping Whistleblowers Quiet: Addressing Employer Agreements To Discourage Whistleblowing". Tulane Law Review. Dec2015, Vol. 90 Issue 2, p495-527. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tulr90&div=18&id=&page= HOL]</ref> Former President [[Donald Trump]] announced plans to dismantle Dodd-Frank in 2016.<ref name="Geewax">{{cite news |last1=Geewax |first1=Marilyn |title=Trump Team Promises To 'Dismantle' Dodd-Frank Bank Regulations |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/10/501610842/trump-team-promises-to-dismantle-dodd-frank-bank-regulations |access-date=13 June 2023 |work=NPR |date=November 10, 2016}}</ref> He created the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection as a part of the [[Department of Veterans Affairs]], which reportedly instead punished whistleblowers.<ref name="Arnsdorf">{{cite news |last1=Arnsdorf |first1=Isaac |title=Trump Appointees Used "Whistleblower Protection" Law to Target Whistleblowers, Review Finds |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-appointees-used-whistleblower-protection-law-to-target-whistleblowers-review-finds |access-date=13 June 2023 |work=ProPublica |date=24 October 2019 }}</ref>

The US Department of Labor's Whistleblower Protection Program can handle many types of retaliation claims based on legal actions an employee took or was perceived to take in the course of their employment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whistleblower Protection {{!}} Whistleblower Protection Program |url=https://www.whistleblowers.gov/about-us |access-date=6 December 2019 |website=www.whistleblowers.gov}}</ref> Moreover, in the United States, if the retaliation occurred due to the perception of who the employee is as a person, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may be able to accept a complaint of retaliation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the EEOC: Overview |url=https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/index.cfm |access-date=6 December 2019 |website=www.eeoc.gov}}</ref> In an effort to overcome those fears, in 2010, the [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]] was put forth to provide great incentive to whistleblowers. For example, if a whistleblower gave information that could be used to legally recover over one million dollars, then they could receive ten to thirty percent of it.

Whistleblowers have risen within the technology industry as it has expanded in recent years. Protection for these specific whistleblowers falls short; they often end up unemployed or in jail. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act offers an incentive for private sector whistleblowers but only if they go to the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] with information.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hiltzik |first=Michael |date=12 July 2018 |title=Column: Whistleblowers need help. This tech entrepreneur wants to provide it |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-whistleblowers-high-tech-20180713-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> If a whistleblower acts internally, as they often do in the technology industry, they are not protected by the law. Scandals such as the [[Dragonfly (search engine)|Dragonfly]] search engine scandal and the [[Snapchat|Pompliano]] lawsuit against Snapchat have drawn attention to whistleblowers in technology.

The federally recognized [[National Whistleblower Appreciation Day]] is observed annually on July 30, on the anniversary of the country's original 1778 whistleblower protection law.

===Other countries===
South Africa adopted comprehensive legal protections for whistleblowers with the Protected Disclosures Act of 2000 (PDA). The PDA was further strengthened by the passage of an Amendment Act in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=Whistleblowing – legislation in South Africa |url=https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/whistleblowing-legislation-in-south-africa |work=Pinsent Masons |date=25 Sep 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whistle-blower reporting and protection systems in Southern Africa: What are our commonalities? |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/ft-uncac/wb/Session_3_AC_Savage.pdf |website=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |access-date=13 June 2023|date=7 February 2022}}</ref>

A number of other countries have adopted comprehensive whistleblower laws, including [[Ghana]]'s Whistleblowers Act (Act 720), 2006.<ref name="Suuk">{{cite news |last1=Suuk |first1=Maxwell |title=Why are Ghanaians reluctant whistleblowers? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-ghanaians-reluctant-whistleblowers/a-19441793 |access-date=13 June 2023 |work=dw.com |date=2 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WHISTLEBLOWER ACT, 2006 (ACT 720) |url=https://lawsghana.com/post-1992-legislation/table-of-content/Acts%20of%20Parliament/WHISTLEBLOWER%20ACT,%202006%20(ACT%20720)/163 |publisher=LawsGhana |access-date=13 June 2023}}</ref>
[[South Korea]],<ref name="Hayes">{{cite news |last1=Hayes |first1=Sean |title=Whistleblower Protections and Laws in South Korea |url=https://www.thekoreanlawblog.com/2021/02/whistleblower-protection-south-korea.html |access-date=13 June 2023 |work=The Korean Law Blog by IPG Legal |date=26 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Freehills LLP |first1=Herbert Smith |last2=Yuen |first2=Celia |last3=Lucy |first3=Twomey |title=Korea's new whistleblowing legislation |url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ad889a6e-83b2-4c72-aca1-c430aa0d9557 |work=Lexology |date=10 February 2012 }}</ref> [[Uganda]],<ref name="Tumuramye">{{cite journal |last1=Tumuramye |first1=Brenda |last2=Ntayi |first2=Joseph Mpeera |last3=Muhwezi |first3=Moses |title=Whistle-blowing intentions and behaviour in Ugandan public procurement |journal=Journal of Public Procurement |date=4 June 2018 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=111–130 |doi=10.1108/JOPP-06-2018-008 |s2cid=169602254 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328603508 |access-date=13 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2010 |url=https://ulii.org/akn/ug/act/2010/6/eng@2010-05-11 |publisher=Judiciary of Uganda |access-date=13 June 2023 |date=11 May 2010 }}</ref> 
[[Kenya]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Whistleblower Protection Bill, 2021 |url=http://parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2021-11/The%20Whistleblower%20Protection%20Bill%2C%202021.pdf |website=Parliament of Kenya |access-date=13 June 2023}}</ref> and [[Rwanda]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Rwanda|date=2021 |url=https://www.pplaaf.org/country/rwanda.html |website=PPLAAF |access-date=13 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=THE STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW ON WHISTLE-BLOWERS IN RWANDA |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/NGO/Fast-tracking/Revised_Report_TIRW_UNODC_Assessment_Whitsleblower_law.pdf |website=Transparency International Rwan |access-date=13 June 2023|date=2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Public Procurement and Whistleblower Protection Systems Strengthened in Eastern Africa |url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ngos/public-procurement-and-whistleblower-protection-systems-strengthened-in-eastern-africa.html |work=United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime |date=29 October 2020 }}</ref> also have Whistleblower laws. The [[European Court of Human Rights]] ruled in 2008 that whistleblowing was protected as freedom of expression.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bonucci |first1=Nicola |last2=El Ghozi |first2=Philippe Bouchez |title=Whistleblower Protection in Europe: Where do we Stand? {{!}} Paul Hastings LLP |url=https://www.paulhastings.com/insights/client-alerts/whistleblower-protection-in-europe-where-do-we-stand |work=www.paulhastings.com |date=March 14, 2023}}</ref>

[[Nigeria]] set up a whistleblowing policy against corruption and other ills.<ref>Guja v. Moldova, Application no. 14277/04 (2008)</ref> [[Nigeria]] formulated a [[Whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria|Whistleblowing Policy]] in 2016, but this has not yet been established as law. A new draft bill for Whistle-blower Protection was approved by the [[Cabinet of Nigeria|Federal Executive Council]] (FEC) as of December 2022.<ref name="Angbulu">{{cite news |last1=Angbulu |first1=Stephen |title=FG approves new whistle-blower bill |url=https://punchng.com/fg-approves-new-whistle-blower-bill/ |work=Punch Newspapers |date=14 December 2022}}</ref> The new draft whistleblower protection bill was presented to the [[National Assembly (Nigeria)|National Assembly]] for consideration by President [[Muhammadu Buhari]] in May 2023. Buhari's term as President ends as of May 29, 2023.<ref name="Usman">{{cite news |last1=Usman |first1=Mustapha |title=Coalition lauds Buhari for transmitting whistleblower protection bill to NASS |url=https://www.icirnigeria.org/coalition-lauds-buhari-for-transmitting-whistleblower-protection-bill-to-nass/ |work=The ICIR- Latest News, Politics, Governance, Elections, Investigation, Factcheck, Covid-19 |date=10 May 2023}}</ref>

=== Advocacy for protection ===
Many [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]] advocate for stronger and more comprehensive legal rights and protections for whistleblowers. Among them are the [[Government Accountability Project]] (GAP), Blueprint for Free Speech,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blueprintforfreespeech.net/ |title=Blueprint for Free Speech – Meet the whistleblowers |website=blueprintforfreespeech.net}}</ref> [[Public Concern at Work]] (PCaW), the Open Democracy Advice Centre<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opendemocracy.org.za/|title=Home |website=www.opendemocracy.org.za}}</ref> or in France, the Maison des Lanceurs d'Alerte (MLA).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maison des Lanceurs d'alerte |publisher=Whistleblowing International Network |url=https://whistleblowingnetwork.org/Membership/Our-Members/Members/Maison-des-Lanceurs-d-alerte |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=whistleblowingnetwork.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maison des Lanceurs d'Alerte |url=https://mlalerte.org/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Maison des Lanceurs d'Alerte |language=fr-FR}}</ref> An international network - the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) - aimed at gathering these NGOs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |publisher=Whistleblowing International Network |url=https://whistleblowingnetwork.org/Home |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=whistleblowingnetwork.org}}</ref>

[[Frank Serpico]], an [[New York City Police Department|NYPD]] whistleblower, prefers to use the term "lamp-lighter"<!--[sic] That's the spelling in the article.--> to describe the whistleblower's role as a watchman.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/to-whistleblow-is-like-a-death-sentence-five-people-who-risked-everything-to-speak-out-8542421.html Frank Serpico section, ''The Independent'', U.K.]</ref> The Lamplighter Project, which aims to encourage law enforcement officers to report corruption and abuse of power and helps them do so, is named based on Serpico's usage of the term.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lamplighter Project |url=https://www.thelamplighterproject.org/ |access-date=2022-11-11}}</ref>

==Methods used==
Whistleblowers who may be at risk from those they are exposing are now using [[encryption]] methods and anonymous content-sharing software to protect their identity. [[Tor (network)|Tor]], a highly accessible anonymity network, is frequently used by whistleblowers around the world.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://www.usenix.org/legacy/events/sec11/tech/full_papers/Mittal.pdf|title = PIR-Tor: Scalable Anonymous Communication Using Private Information Retrieval.|last = Mittal|first = Prateek|date = 2001|journal = USENIX Security Symposium|access-date = 10 April 2015}}</ref> Tor has undergone a number of large security updates to protect the identities of potential whistleblowers who may wish to leak information anonymously.<ref>"Security upgrade for 'anonymity network'". New Scientist. 8 November 2007, Vol. 195 Issue 2616, p23-23. 1p. Available online at: {{Cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526166-100-security-upgrade-for-anonymity-network/ |title=Security upgrade for 'anonymity network' |date=8 August 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160413032733/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526166-100-security-upgrade-for-anonymity-network/|archive-date=13 April 2016|work=New Scientist }}</ref>

Recently{{when|date=January 2020}} specialized whistleblowing software like [[SecureDrop]] and [[GlobaLeaks]] has been built on top of the [[Tor (network)|Tor]] technology to incentivize and simplify its adoption for secure whistleblowing.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Frediani|first1=Carola|title=After NSA Scandal, Crop of Whistleblower Communication Tools for Journalists Emerge|url=http://techpresident.com/news/24526/after-NSA-whistleblower-tools-for-journalists|website=[[TechPresident]]|access-date=27 November 2016|archive-date=27 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127215921/http://techpresident.com/news/24526/after-NSA-whistleblower-tools-for-journalists|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Greenberg|first1=Andy|title=Whistleblowers Beware: Apps Like Whisper and Secret Will Rat You Out|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/05/whistleblowers-beware/|journal=[[Wired (website)|Wired]]|access-date=27 November 2016|date=14 May 2014}}</ref>

===Whistleblowing hotline===
In business, whistleblowing hotlines are usually deployed to mitigate risk, with the intention of providing secure, anonymous reporting for employees or third-party suppliers who may otherwise be fearful of reprisals from their employer. As such, implementing a corporate whistleblowing hotline is often seen as a step toward compliance and can also highlight an organization's stance on ethics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/review/diafp/08-Implementing-a-Whistleblower-Helpline.pdf|title=Developing an Integrated Anti-Fraud, Compliance, and Ethics Program – Implementing a Whistleblowing Helpline|date=2019|website=Association of Certified Fraud Examiners|access-date=10 May 2019|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127171751/https://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/review/diafp/08-Implementing-a-Whistleblower-Helpline.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is widely agreed that implementing a dedicated service for whistleblowers has a positive effect on [[organizational culture]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content/how-cultivate-whistleblowing-culture|title=How to cultivate a whistleblowing culture {{!}} Ethical Corporation|website=www.ethicalcorp.com|access-date=10 May 2019}}</ref>

A whistleblowing hotline is sometimes also referred to as an ''ethics hotline'' or ''"Speak Up" hotline'' and is often facilitated by an [[Outsourcing|outsourced]] service provider to encourage potential disclosers to come forward.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 2018, the ''[[Harvard Business Review]]'' published findings to support the idea that whistleblowing hotlines are crucial to keeping companies healthy, stating, "More whistles blown are a sign of health, not illness."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://hbr.org/2018/11/research-whistleblowers-are-a-sign-of-healthy-companies|title=Research: Whistleblowers Are a Sign of Healthy Companies|last1=Stubben|first1=Stephen|date=14 November 2018|work=Harvard Business Review|access-date=14 May 2019|last2=Welch|first2=Kyle|issn=0017-8012}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
One of the subplots for season{{nbsp}}6 of the popular American TV show ''[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]'' focuses on [[Andy Bernard]], a salesman, discovering that his company's printers catch on fire, his struggling with how to deal with the news, and the company's response to the whistleblower going public.

The 1998 film ''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]'' involves [[Jean-Luc Picard|Picard]] and the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)|NCC-1701-E ''Enterprise'']] crew risking their [[Starfleet]] careers to blow the whistle on a [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] conspiracy with the [[Son'a]] to forcibly relocate the [[Ba'ku]] from their planet.

In 2014, the rock/industrial band [[Laibach]] released a song titled "The Whistleblowers" on their eighth studio album, ''[[Spectre (Laibach album)|Spectre]]''. It was released on 3 March 2014 under [[Mute Records]].

In 2016, the rock band [[Thrice]] released a song titled "Whistleblower" on the album ''[[To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere]]''. The song is written from the perspective of Snowden.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Montemarano|first1=Mike|url=http://www.baeblemusic.com/musicblog/4-25-2016/blood-on-the-sand-a-conversation-with-thrice.html|title='Blood on the Sand:' A Conversation With Thrice|publisher=Baeble Music|access-date=25 April 2016|archive-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429091609/http://www.baeblemusic.com/musicblog/4-25-2016/blood-on-the-sand-a-conversation-with-thrice.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In July 2018, [[CBS]] debuted a reality television show titled ''[[Whistleblower (U.S. TV program)|Whistleblower]]'', hosted by lawyer, former judge, and police officer [[Alex Ferrer]], that covers ''[[qui tam]]'' suits under the [[False Claims Act]] against companies that have allegedly defrauded the federal government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2018/07/17/plaintiffs-lawyers-get-tv-time-as-cbs-launches-whistleblower-reality-show/?slreturn=20180618111845|title=Plaintiffs Lawyers Get TV Time as CBS Launches Whistleblower Reality Show {{!}} The American Lawyer|work=The American Lawyer|access-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718205236/https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2018/07/17/plaintiffs-lawyers-get-tv-time-as-cbs-launches-whistleblower-reality-show/?slreturn=20180618111845|archive-date=18 July 2018}}</ref>

{{See also|Daniel Ellsberg#Films|l1=Daniel Ellsberg-related films}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
* [[Informant]]
* [[Supergrass (informer)]]
* [[Benetech]] Martus
* [[Complaint system]]
* [[Conflict of interest]]
* [[European Community competition law#Leniency policy|ECC: Leniency policy]]
* [[False Claims Act]]
* [[Nuclear whistleblowers]]
* [[List of nuclear whistleblowers]]
* [[List of whistleblowers]]
* [[List of EPA whistleblowers]]
* [[Misplaced loyalty]]
* [[Organizational retaliatory behavior]]
* [[Right to privacy]]
* [[SEC Office of the Whistleblower]]
* [[Shooting the messenger]]
* [[Vigilante]]
* [[Whistleblower Office]]
}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
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* Arnold, Jason Ross (2019). ''[https://www.amazon.com/Whistleblowers-Leakers-Their-Networks-Professional/dp/1538130564 Whistleblowers, Leakers, and Their Networks: From Snowden to Samizdat]''. Rowman & Littlefield.
*Banisar, David "Whistleblowing: International Standards and Developments", in ''Corruption and Transparency: Debating the Frontiers between State, Market and Society'', I. Sandoval, ed., World Bank-Institute for Social Research, UNAM, Washington, D.C., 2011 available online at [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1753180 ssrn.com]
*{{Cite book |editor=Bazzichelli, Tatiana |title=Whistleblowing for Change. Exposing Systems of Power and Injustice |publisher=transcript Verlag |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-8376-5793-7}} [https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-5793-7/whistleblowing-for-change/?number=978-3-8394-5793-1 (Open Access)]
*Ceva, Emanuela and Bocchiola, Michele (2018). [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Is+Whistleblowing+a+Duty%3F-p-9781509529681 ''Is Whistleblowing a duty?'', Cambridge: Polity Press].
*[[Quentin Dempster|Dempster]], [[Quentin Dempster|Quentin]] ''Whistleblowers'', Sydney, ABC Books, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7333-0504-0}} [See especially pp.&nbsp;199–212: 'The Courage of the Whistleblowers']
*Frais, A "Whistleblowing heroes&nbsp;– boon or burden?", ''Bulletin of Medical Ethics'', 2001 Aug:(170):13–19.
*Garrett, Allison, "Auditor Whistle Blowing: The Financial Fraud Detection and Disclosure Act," 17 [[Seton Hall]] ''Legis. J.'' 91 (1993).
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*{{Cite journal |author=Hunt, Geoffrey |title=Whistleblowing, Accountability & Ethical Accounting|journal=[[Clinical Risk (journal)|Clinical Risk]] |volume=6|issue=3|pages= 115–16 |year=2000|doi=10.1177/135626220000600306|s2cid=79063742}}
*{{Cite book |author=Hunt, Geoffrey |title='Whistleblowing', commissioned entry for Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, (8,000 words) |publisher=Academic Press, California, USA |year=1998}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Hunt, Geoffrey |title=Whistleblowing in the Social Services: Public Accountability & Professional Practice |publisher=Arnold |year=1998}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Hunt, G |title=Whistleblowing in the Health Service: Accountability, Law & Professional Practice |publisher=Arnold |year=1995}}
*{{Cite book |author=Johnson, Roberta Ann |title=Whistleblowing: When It Works—And Why |publisher=L. Reinner Publishers |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-58826-114-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/whistleblowingwh00john }}
*{{Cite book |author=Kohn, Stephen M |title=Concepts and Procedures in Whistleblower Law |publisher=[[Quorum Books]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-56720-354-7}}
*{{Cite book |author1-link=Stephen M. Kohn |author1=Kohn, Stephen M |author2-link=Michael D. Kohn |author2=Kohn, Michael D |author3-link=David K. Colapinto |author3=Colapinto, David K. |year=2004 |title=Whistleblower Law A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees |publisher=[[Praeger Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-275-98127-3}}
* Lauretano, Major Daniel A., "The Military Whistleblower Protection Act and the Military Mental Health Protection Act", ''Army Law'', (Oct) 1998.
* Lechner, Jay P. & Paul M. Sisco, [http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNJournal01.nsf/8c9f13012b96736985256aa900624829/83e35f41f619308c85257178006f13fe?OpenDocument "Sarbanes-Oxley Criminal Whistleblower Provisions & the Workplace: More Than Just Securities Fraud"] 80 Florida B. J. 85 (June 2006)
*{{Cite book |author=Lipman, Frederick D. |title=Whistleblowers: Incentives, Disincentives, and Protection Strategies |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-118-09403-7}}
*[[Brian Martin (social scientist)|Martin, Brian]]. [http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/07ji/index.html ''Justice Ignited: The Dynamics of Backfire''], (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007).
* Martin, Brian with Wendy Varney. [http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/03nvs/index.html ''Nonviolence Speaks: Communicating against Repression''], (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2003).
* Martin, Brian. [http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/01tnvs/ ''Technology for Nonviolent Struggle''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409000022/http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/01tnvs/ |date=9 April 2009 }}, (London: War Resisters' International, 2001).
* Martin, Brian with Lyn Carson. [http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/99rsip.pdf ''Random Selection in Politics''], (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999).
* Martin, Brian. ''The Whistleblower's Handbook: How to Be an Effective Resister'', (Charlbury, UK: Jon Carpenter; Sydney: Envirobook, 1999). Updated and republished 2013 as [http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/13wb.html ''Whistleblowing: a practical guide''], Sparsnäs, Sweden: Irene Publishing.
* McCarthy, Robert J. "Blowing in the Wind: Answers for Federal Whistleblowers", 3 ''[[William & Mary Policy Review]]'' 184 (2012).
*{{Cite book |author=Miethe, Terance D |title=Whistleblowing at work: tough choices in exposing fraud, waste, and abuse on the job |publisher=[[Westview Press]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8133-3549-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whistleblowingat0000miet }}
* Rowe, Mary & Bendersky, Corinne, "Workplace Justice, Zero Tolerance and Zero Barriers: Getting People to Come Forward in Conflict Management Systems," in ''Negotiations and Change, From the Workplace to Society'', [[Thomas Kochan]] and Richard Locke (eds), [[Cornell University Press]], 2002
* Wilkey, Robert N. Esq., [https://web.archive.org/web/20150404012642/http://open.wmitchell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=wmlr&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2F "Federal Whistleblower Protection: A Means to Enforcing Maximum Hour Legislation for Medical Residents"],  ''[[William Mitchell Law Review]]'', Vol. 30, Issue 1 (2003).
*Engineering Ethics concepts and cases by Charles E. Harris, Jr. – Michael S. Pritchard- Michael J. Rabins.
* [https://www.irs.gov/uac/Whistleblower-Informant-Award IRS.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804024152/https://www.irs.gov/uac/whistleblower-informant-award |date=4 August 2017 }}, Whistleblower&nbsp;– Informant Award
* [https://www.whistleblowingservice.com.au/legislation-and-laws/ Whistleblower& Laws Australia] – Global and Australian Laws: Steven Asnicar, 2019

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|whistle-blower}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Whistleblowers}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=no |others=yes lcheading=Whistleblowing}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/1.14226!/menu/main/topColumns/topLeftColumn/pdf/503454a.pdf |title=3 ways to blow the whistle |author=Ed Yong |date=28 November 2013 |work=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] Vol 503|author-link=Ed Yong }}
* [http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980023.htm Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516203522/http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980023.htm |date=16 May 2008 }} from [[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]]
* [https://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-8246 National Security Whistleblowers], a [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS) Report
* [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43045.pdf Survey of Federal Whistleblower and Anti-Retaliation Laws], a [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS) Report
* [http://www.whistleblowers.gov Whistleblower Protection Program & information] at [[U.S. Department of Labor]]
* [http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fca/doc/2006/2006fca283/2006fca283.html Read v. Canada (Attorney General)] Canadian legal framework regarding whistleblowing defence
* [http://www.patientsfirst.org.uk Patients First]
* [http://www.whistlebloweruk.org Whistleblowers UK] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417075731/http://whistlebloweruk.org/ |date=17 April 2019 }}
* [http://www.bergermontague.com/practice-areas/whistleblowers,-qui-tam-false-claims-act/whistleblowers,-qui-tam-false-claims-act-legal-blog/should-i-be-a-whistleblower-and-report-government-fraud-to-lawyers-and-attorneys Why be a whistleblower?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613111410/http://www.bergermontague.com/practice-areas/whistleblowers,-qui-tam-false-claims-act/whistleblowers,-qui-tam-false-claims-act-legal-blog/should-i-be-a-whistleblower-and-report-government-fraud-to-lawyers-and-attorneys |date=13 June 2017 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131203155909/http://conversations.psu.edu/episodes/eyal_press Author Eyal Press discusses whistleblowers and heroism on ''Conversations from Penn State'']
* [http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2016/03/digital-dissidents-160323141254755.html "Digital Dissidents: What it Means to be a Whistleblower"]. ''[[Al Jazeera English]]''.

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[[Category:Anti-corporate activism]]
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[[Category:Freedom of expression]]
[[Category:Freedom of speech]]
[[Category:Grounds for termination of employment]]
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[[Category:Political terminology]]
[[Category:United States federal labor legislation]]
[[Category:1970s neologisms]]
[[Category:Whistleblowing]]