Technology And The Whistleblower

Technology And The Whistleblower

As the meeting comes to a close, your boss smirks with an self assured arrogance. He then says that you should seriously consider his offer, because he has it on good authority, that there may be a very localized downsizing in your department. Wouldn’t it be nice to smirk back and just say "no thanks". This scenario plays out more often then most people realize. With all of the recent business and government scandals there were a lot of people who knew that books were being cooked, laws being broken and the health of the public being put at risk, just to keep profits high and investors content. Many people felt that there was nothing they could do against powerful executives and corrupt bureaucrats.

The credibility of a low level employee compared to that of a ‘successful’ corporate executive is a huge hurdle to overcome. Also, corporate lawyers are there to defend the company, even from internal hazards. So, once a person decides to speak up, they must be prepared to have their credibility brutally attacked and the onslaught of legal preceding from an all-star team of corporate lawyers. Just the thought of legal proceedings can stop a person from making the ethical choice. It’s easy for people to be vilified by their employer, at which point the credibility of the person speaking out is destroyed. How is possible for a single person to fight a company or government with infinite resources? Many years ago, it was practically impossible. However, the "digital revolution" may have changed the balance of power.

For a "whistleblower" to be effective they need proof of wrong doing and a method to communicate those issues to the public. The availability of compact electronic devices such as digital audio recorders and digital cameras allow an individual to document many of the issues and bring the power back to the whistleblower. The first piece of technology that should be in every whistleblowers repertoire is a digital audio recorder. These devices are so small that they can be put in a shirt pocket without being noticed. Once you decide to "blow the whistle" you should start recording all of your conversations. Keep a log of the items discussed, so that you can refer to the appropriate recording when needed, otherwise you can spend hours going back over the content. The best part is that these devices are not expensive. A digital voice recorder costs about $100, or many times MP3 players have a microphone built into the device, so they can be used to record conversations. Another device that is very handy is a voice modem with telephone recording software. This will allow you to, hook up your phone, and record any conversations that occur over the phone. If you get fired before you have all the evidence, sometimes telephone conversations, with the people in power, can help to document important facts, because people very rarely think they are being recorded and say things that they probably should not have.