Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: Integrity Systems Research Dr Suelette Dreyfus Research Fellow, Dept of Computing and Information Systems The University.

Whistleblowing in the Digital Age:

Integrity Systems Research

Dr Suelette DreyfusResearch Fellow, Dept of Computing and Information SystemsThe University of Melbourne

Background

Dr Suelette Dreyfus – Research Fellow, University of Melbourne. Research work in the impact of technology on: Health, Education, Integrity Systems and Citizen-State Engagement.

Trained and worked as a staff journalist on Australia’s largest selling daily newspaper.

Non-Fiction Writer – Author of “Underground”

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Why is Whistleblowing Important?

Trust in Our InstitutionsWe need to be able to trust our institutions such as:

government banking system police churches doctors heroes

Or else we can’t engage well with our society

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Google Images

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Whistleblowing(Integrity Systems)

“Whistle-blowers are organisation members (including former members and job applicants) who disclose illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices (including omissions) under the control of their employers, to persons or organisations who may be able to effect action” (Near and Miceli, 1985)

Increasingly - includes organisation members such as volunteers, sub-contractors, church or university members who reveal serious wrongdoing

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What are Icelanders’ Attitudes to Whistleblowing?

Stratified national random sample survey, Adults, aged 18 - 64

Using questions from the World Online Whistleblowing Survey

Across 3 countries –Iceland, Britain, Australia

Total respondents –

Australia – 1211 (NewsPoll)

Iceland – 809 (Social Science Research Inst., Univ of Iceland)

United Kingdom – 2000 (ComRes)

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Inside InformationQuestion 1:

‘Inside information’ is information that someone has because of their role in an organisation – for example, as an employee of a government department or a business, or as a member of an education, religious or community organisation.

Often inside information is secret of confidential, for good reason. However, often it is also about important things going on within the organisation.

Which of the following comes closest to your view? (Select one answer)

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Too much information Not enough information

About the right amount

Don’t know

Inside Information

Australia UK Iceland

Too much 50 % 54 % 63 %

Just right 26 % 22 % 15 %

Not enough 7 % 8 % 3 %

Don’t know 18 % 16 % 19 %

Q1: Is too much ‘inside information’ kept secret in organisations in your society?

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Sometimes, inside information can be about serious wrongdoing. This is when a person or organisation does things that are unlawful, unjust, dangerous or dishonest enough to harm the interests of individuals, the organisation or wider society.

Which of the following comes closest to your view?

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Inside Information and Serious Wrongdoing

Unacceptable

Acceptable

Neither

Aim: what do people think their society currently permits / allows?

Revealing Inside Information and

Serious Wrongdoing

Q2: Is it unacceptable for people to speak up about serious wrongdoing, if inside information would have to be revealed?

Australia UK Iceland

Unacceptable 29 % 31 % 37 %

Acceptable 53 % 47 % 36 %

Don’t know 18 % 22 % 27 %

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Support for WhistleblowingQuestion 3:

Which of the following best describes what you think should happen in your society? (Select one answer)

Aim: what do people want their society to be like?

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People should be supported for revealing serious wrongdoing, even if it means revealing inside information

People who reveal inside information should be punished, even if they are revealing serious wrongdoing

Neither

Support for Whistleblowing

Q3: Which of the following best describes what you think should happen in your society?

Australia UK Iceland

Support, even if revealing inside information

81 % 81 % 87 %

Punish, even if reporting serious wrongdoing

9 % 6 % 3 %

Don’t know 10 % 13 % 9 %13

The Whistleblower

14Source: www.lookfordiagnosis.com

The WhistleblowerQuestion 4:

And how acceptable do you personally think it is for someone to reveal inside information about serious wrongdoing by each of these different types of people? (Select one answer)

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Role of Person Select Answer

Serious wrongdoing by people in charge of an organisation

Acceptable UnacceptableSerious wrongdoing by other staff or workers in an organisation

Serious wrongdoing by a family member of friend working in the organisation

How acceptable do you think it is for someone to reveal inside information about serious wrongdoing by people in different roles within an organisation?

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The Whistleblower

Country Acceptable Unacceptable Neither

People in charge of organisation

Australia 82 % 4 % 14 %

UK 71 % 16 % 13 %

Iceland 83 % 8 % 8 %

Staff or workers in organisation

Australia 77 % 5 % 18 %

UK 70 % 16 % 14 %

Iceland 77 % 13 % 10 %

Family member or friend working in an organisation

Australia 59 % 13 % 28 %

UK 58 % 18 % 23 %

Iceland 67 % 19 % 14 %

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Changing attitudes to whistleblowers

Source: www.thewhistleblower711.blospot.com

The Obligation to Act

Thinking about your role in the organisation you mentioned – how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Select one answer per row)

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Statement Select Answer

Strongly Disagree / Disagree

Strongly Agree /

Agree

If I reported wrongdoing to someone in my organisation, I am confident something appropriate would be done about it.

Management in my organisation is serious about protecting people who report wrongdoing

19Source: www.cartoonstock.com

The Obligation to ActIf I reported wrongdoing to someone in my organisation, I am confident something appropriate would be done about it.

The Obligation to Act

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If I reported wrongdoing to someone in my organisation, I am confident something appropriate would be done about it.

Australia UK Iceland

Strongly Agree / Agree 54 % 58 % 57 %

Strongly Disagree / Disagree

18 % 18 % 17 %

Don’t know 27 % 24 % 26 %

The Obligation to Act Management in my organisation is serious about protecting people who report wrongdoing.

21Source: www.cartoonstock.com

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The Obligation to ActManagement in my organisation is serious about protecting people who report wrongdoing.

Australia UK Iceland

Strongly Agree / Agree 46 % 49 % 38 %

Strongly Disagree / Disagree

13 % 14 % 18 %

Don’t know 41 % 38 % 44 %

Different Ways to ActIn different societies, there are different views on the most effective way to get action to stop serious wrongdoing. Which one of these do you think is the most effective way in your society? (Select one answer)

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Report the serious wrongdoing to people in authority, via official channels

Reporting the serious wrongdoing to journalists or news organisations

Reporting the serious wrongdoing directly to the general public, via the Internet, Twitter, Facebook, or online blogs

Some other way

None of the above – no effective way to get action to stop serious wrongdoing

Can’t say / Don’t know

Different Ways to ActWhich is the most effective way to get action to stop serious wrongdoing?

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Australia

UK Iceland

Report to people in authority, via official channels

56 % 51 % 47 %

Report to journalists or news organisations

16 % 19 % 19 %

Report directly to general public, via the Internet, Twitter, Facebook, or online blogs

6 % 7 % 6 %

Some other way 2 % 2 % 3 %

None – no effective way 10 % 12 % 18 %

Can’t say 10 % 9 % 7 %

The Role of the Media

If someone in an organisation has inside information about serious wrongdoing, when do you think they should be able to use a journalist, the media, or the Internet to draw attention to it?

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Australia

UK Iceland

Use the media 87 % 87 % 90 %

Never 5 % 4 % 4 %

Don’t know 8 % 7 % 6 %

The Role of the Media

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Australia

UK Iceland

As a first option, in any situation 7 % 9 % 9 %

Whenever there become specific reasons to do so

34 % 34 % 27 %

Only as a last resort, if all else fails

46 % 44 % 54 %

The breakdown of which situations respondents believe people should use the media to bring attention to serious wrongdoing that is proven by revealing inside information.

Whistleblowing GloballyThere are moves in a number of countries to introduce new laws or revise old ones in order to bring law reform into line with public’s views on whistleblowing.

In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) , the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 passed 8 months ago. It included specific protections for whistleblowers making disclosures to the Legislative Assembly or to a journalist

New Whistleblower Protection Bill introduced into the Australian Parliament. It sets out remedies including (also giving whistleblowers easy access to adverse action and unfair dismissal provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)):

Immunity from liability Protection from a defamation action Ability to bring an action for damages as a result of a detrimental

action taken against a whistleblower as a result of their disclosure Reinstatement A criminal offence of victimisation as against anyone who victimises a

whistleblower by reason of their disclosure30

SummaryA large majority of Icelanders believe that

whistleblowers should be supported, not punished, even if they reveal inside information

Icelanders perceive official channels to be the most effective way first option for reporting serious wrongdoing, but ..

There is overwhelming public support for whistleblowers being able to use different avenues, including types of media to bring attention to the wrongdoing.

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More Broadly .. Citizens across a set of countries believe whistleblowers must be

protected for revealing serious wrongdoing.

Whistleblowers need both official channels as well as alternative options (revelations made to the media or to MPs for example), and this is supported by public opinion across cultures.

There is a gap between the situation that exists in society and the public’s expectations and desires in various countries with regard to both whistleblowing and secrecy of information in institutions, including Iceland, the UK and Australia.

Closing this gap may begin to improve citizen confidence in government and broader society.

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AcknowledgementsThe Australian Research Council (funder of the study)

Dr Wim Vanderkerckhove and the University of Greenwich (UK), Dr Andrew Clausen, University of Edinburgh

NewsPoll Australia, The University of Iceland’s Social Science Research Institute, ComRes (UK), Blueprint for Free Speech, Transparency International (Berlin)

The team: Prof AJ Brown, Prof Marcia Miceli, Assoc. Prof Simon Milton, Dr Reeva Lederman, Dr Rachelle Bosua, Jessie Shanzle

The International Whistleblowing Research Network members (for review and refinement of survey questions)

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References Brown, A.J. (ed) (2008), Whistleblowing in the Australian public sector: Enhancing

the theory and practice of internal witness management in public sector organizations. Canberra, ACT: ANU E-Press.

Dozier, J. B. , and M. P. Miceli, (1985), 'Potential predictors of whistle-blowing: A prosocial behavior perspective', Academy of Management Review, 10 (4), 823-836.

Ethics Resource Center, (2012), 'Just what is a whistleblower?', Retrieved May 31 from http://ethics.org/news/2011nbes-reporting?utm_source=NBES+.

Kaplan, Steve E., Kelly R. Pope, and Janet A. Samuels, (2010), 'The effect of social confrontation on individuals' intentions to internally report fraud', Behavioral Research in Accounting, 22 (2), 51-67.

Mazerolle, Paul, and Peter Cassimatis (2009), 'Whistling while they work: Some findings from a large study into public sector whistleblowing in Australia', Paper presented at the International conference on whistleblowing legislation and research, London, UK.

Miceli, Marcia P., and Janet P. Near, (1992), Blowing the whistle: The organizational and legal implications for companies and employees, New York: Lexington.

Near, Janet P., and Marcia P. Miceli, (1985), 'Organizational dissidence: The case of whistle-blowing', Journal of Business Ethics, 4 (1), 1-16.

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