Whistleblowing refers to the act of drawing attention to perceived wrongdoing, illegal activity, or misconduct within the private sector, public sector, or government organization. Whistleblowing is the act of telling appropriate authorities that the company the individual is working for is involved in illegal or immoral activities like corruption, bullying, fraud, discrimination, and cover-up or safety violation. Who is a whistleblower? A whistleblower is an individual who turns against his company and reports the wrongdoing to appropriate authorities. A whistleblower must have the proof to back his accusations and his statement must serve the public interest. What Counts as Whistleblowing - The safety and health of a person is in question - Violation of law - A cover-up of any wrongdoing - Risk to environment - Justice failure - Illegal activities - Harassment - Discrimination Rise in Whistleblowing The term Whistleblowing was used for the first time for Otto Otopeka in 1963 There was a rise in whistleblowing after the case of World Com and Enron. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was introduced after these two cases The financial crisis of 2007-08 proved a turning point as the cases increased in greater numbers Types of Whistleblowing 1. Internal sources 2. External sources 3. Third-party agencies Modern Methods Used For Whistleblower Protection 1. Anonymous data sharing software and encryption methods 2. Third-party whistleblowing services like Navex Global and Expolink Legal Protection for Whistleblowers - Restricted protections in the laws of anti-corruption, employment and freedom of information in 50+ countries. - Mechanisms in place to report wrongdoings and protect the identity of whistleblowers. - Whistleblower Protection Directive was approved by the European Parliament. - The Whistleblower Protection Act 2011 in India has been published in the official gazette in 2014 Can a Whistleblower be fired? A company cannot directly fire a whistleblower but they can make his life difficult through a decrease in pay, job transfer, demotion and suspension Examples 1. Satyendra Dubey from India reported against the National Highways Authority of India. 2. Frank Serpico, a police detective reported against New York City Police Department. This video is on Whistleblowing and it has the following sub-topics. Time Stamps 0:00 Introduction 00:21 Definition of Whistleblowing 00:44 Who is a Whistleblower? 01:21 Origin of the term Whistleblowing 01:52 What counts as Whistleblowing? 02:12 Rise in Whistleblowing 02:52 Types of Whistleblowing 04:10 Legal Protection for Whistleblowers 05:59 Can a Whistleblower be Fire