Whistleblower Aid is a nonprofit legal assistance organization co-founded by John Tye and Mark Zaid to help whistleblowers[1] in government and the private sector. It provides free legal services as well as support and security services for eligible clients.[2]

History

In 2017, John N. Tye and attorney Mark S. Zaid formed the nonprofit law office Whistleblower Aid.[3] Tye had previously worked from 2011 to 2014 as the section chief for Internet freedom in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US State Department, and was a whistleblower about government surveillance in the United States.[3]

Initially focused on employees and contractors of the U.S. federal government, Whistleblower Aid emphasizes it is not WikiLeaks. "No one should ever send classified information to Whistleblower Aid," the firm states. "Whistleblower Aid will never assist clients or prospective clients with leaking classified information." Instead, would-be whistleblowers with classified information will be directed to investigators with security clearances to help expose wrongdoing without breaking the law or incurring criminal liability.[3][4] Clients are not charged. To cover expenses, the firm solicits donations from foundations and crowd-source funding.[3]

In 2020, it received a $150,000 grant from the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm founded by Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar. [5]

Frances Haugen

Whistleblower Aid represented Frances Haugen in her whistleblower activities against Facebook.[6][7][8] She contacted the organization shortly after downloading the thousands of internal files that she planned to leak.[2]

To assist Haugen, Whistleblower Aid hired three law firms, a public relations firm, and temporary staff who are redacting documents for Congress. Haugen’s flights to Washington, D.C. have been covered as well.[2]

Joohn Choe

In December 2021 and February 2022, Whistleblower Aid filed complaints on behalf of Facebook contractor Joohn Choe. The complaints allege that Facebook parent company Meta willfully violated United States government sanctions on pro-Russian rebels, allowing them to spread propaganda on the platform.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ Zakrzewski, Cat (6 October 2021). "Transcript: Facebook Crisis with John Tye". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Albergotti, Reed (October 22, 2021). "The Facebook whistleblower's case was a big gamble for the nonprofit supporting her". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Morello, Carol (September 18, 2017). "Former whistleblower starts legal aid group to guide would-be tipsters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Former whistleblower starts legal aid group to guide would-be tipsters". Whistleblower Aid. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  5. ^ Birnbaum, Emily (20 October 2021). "The Tech Billionaire Aiding the Facebook-Whistleblower". Politico. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. ^ Mac, Ryan; Kang, Cecilia (October 3, 2021). "Whistle-Blower Says Facebook 'Chooses Profits Over Safety'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Cameron, Dell (October 6, 2021). "Who Is 'Whistleblower Aid', the Group Helping Frances Haugen Blow the Whistle at Facebook?". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  8. ^ Zakrzewski, Cat (February 18, 2022). "Facebook whistleblower alleges executives misled investors about climate, covid hoaxes in new SEC complaint". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  9. ^ Dress, Bradley (March 10, 2022). "Whistleblower alleges Meta violated US sanctions law by permitting pro-Russia rebels' accounts". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Zakrzewski, Cat; Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Timberg, Craig (10 March 2022). "Pro-Russia rebels are still using Facebook to recruit fighters, spread propaganda". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

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