Are there different types of whistleblowing? Depending on the type of whistleblowing, is there a different level of whistleblower protection? What are some whistleblower examples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When thinking about how to blow the whistle, Edward Snowden considered different types of whistleblowing. Read about his process for how to blow the whistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Once Ed had decided to act, he had to figure out how to blow the whistle. Ed couldn\u2019t simply pursue the type of whistleblowing in which you talk to someone higher up the chain of command because the highest authorities knew\u2014and had authorized\u2014mass surveillance. <\/strong>That kind might have whistleblower protection, but Ed decided he needed an institution or a person to release the information to prove authenticity, mitigate his biases, and help explain the information. He considered self-publishing (posting the docs online and sharing a link), but while it would have been the safest and easiest, he rejected it because it didn\u2019t lend him enough authority. He considered WikiLeaks, but felt this would be too much like self-publishing\u2014WikiLeaks would simply present the documents, unredacted and without context. The problem with self-publishing or anything like it was that the internet is filled with conspiracy theories. People on the Internet are always claiming to be leaking top-secret information, and he didn\u2019t want anyone to think he was just another conspiracy theorist. Additionally, no one would understand the documents without context. Ed had to offer that context. Ed decided a journalist was the best type of whistleblowing for him. He set to getting in touch using encrypted emails. Additionally, Ed used other people\u2019s Internet connections. However, he couldn\u2019t use free public wifi at a cafe or library for two reasons. First, in public places, he\u2019d be recorded by security cameras or seen by other people. Second, every wireless device has a unique Machine Address Code (MAC). Wifi networks store the MACs of every device that connects to them, so his connection would be traceable. To get around this, he went \u201cwar-driving.\u201d War-driving involves driving around looking for wifi connections.<\/strong> All you need is an antenna, GPS sensor, and laptop. The antenna helps you find wifi and the GPS sensor tells you where you\u2019ve found it. Ed\u2019s laptop used an operating system called TAILS, which erases anything he\u2019d ever done on it the moment he shut it down. He used TAILS to hide the laptop\u2019s MAC address and used Tor. Sometimes Ed had to break into other people\u2019s wifi, but often it wasn\u2019t secure or minimally secure. Interestingly, the law doesn\u2019t care if you share classified information with your enemies or the press, or why you do so. The punishment is the same. The only distinction Ed ever encountered was in his Indoc to the intelligence community, when he was told that selling enemies secrets is slightly better than sharing them with the press because at least the enemy won\u2019t tell the public.<\/strong> The first whistleblowers were sailors on the Warren<\/em> in 1777. Their Warren<\/em> was commanded by Commodore Esek Hopkins, who refused to fight in the Revolution, treated prisoners badly, and in general wasn\u2019t fit for command. (He was also the Continental Navy\u2019s commander in chief.) Ten sailors from the Warren<\/em> wrote to the Marine Committee, the highest level in the chain of command, letting them know what Hopkins was doing. These sailors are early whistleblower examples. Hopkins took legal action\u2014a criminal libel suit\u2014against two of the officers who had written to the Marine Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the trial started, another sailor brought the issue to the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress was horrified by the idea that someone could dismiss a serious complaint as libel and enacted a law to protect whistleblowers. <\/strong>If someone in the government was misbehaving, authorities wanted to know about it\u2014speaking up was a duty. Some types of whistleblowing get whistleblower protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are there different types of whistleblowing? Depending on the type of whistleblowing, is there a different level of whistleblower protection? What are some whistleblower examples? When thinking about how to blow the whistle, Edward Snowden considered different types of whistleblowing. Read about his process for how to blow the whistle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,24],"tags":[116],"class_list":["post-12401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-society","tag-permanent-record","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhistleblower Examples of Methods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Blow the Whistle? With a Journalist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nAre Some Types of Whistleblowing Better Than Others?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhistleblower Examples and Legislation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Whistleblower Protection Legislation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n