AI and New Technologies: What the Future Brings for whistle-blowers?

Since the rise of sophisticated technological developments in financial markets, a growing societal need for information and detection of consumer abuses and other wrongdoings can be observed. In the pursuit of the goal of safeguarding the integrity of digitalised financial markets and relationships, whistle-blowers are important allies, as they hold first-hand information about breaches of laws. However, for whistle-blowers to step forward with this information, it is essential that whistle-blowers receive protection. In fact, recent cases such as Luxleaks and Swissleaks have demonstrated that a lack of protection may cause whistle-blowers to get implicated in litigation involving severe legal and financial consequences. Thus, the lack of protection may be a strong disincentive for potential whistle-blowers to share information. Improvements are important, because EU whistle-blowing cases demonstrate that there are lacunas in the protection of whistle-blowers. The overall purpose of this chapter is to examine whether the European Union (EU) law on whistle-blowers can be improved by exploring (1) how new technologies influence whistle-blowing, (2) how whistle-blowers’ anonymity and financial rewards can be captured and regulated in the legal framework, (3) how it can be enabled by technology and (4) and how to protect whistle-blowers who work in the technological sector.