Transparency and Secrecy: The paradoxes of tech whistleblowing in the digital era

Introduction

Whistleblowing in the technology industry has become increasingly complex and paradoxical due to the tension between transparency and secrecy. On one hand, the tech industry often emphasizes the importance of transparency, openness, and sharing information with users. This is seen in the frequent release of transparency reports by tech companies, detailing government requests for user data and content removals. On the other hand, the tech industry is also known for its culture of secrecy, where trade secrets, intellectual property, and proprietary algorithms are closely guarded and protected. This paradox creates a challenging situation for whistleblowers in the tech industry who witness unethical or illegal activities. The competing values of transparency and secrecy make it difficult for tech whistleblowers to navigate the appropriate course of action.

Project details

The EU, the UK and the US have whistleblowing laws which seem not to work for the protection of whistleblowers. Several tech scandals in the US as well as in the EU and the UK have raised concerns whether internal voices are heard. The ‘laissez-faire’ regulatory approach and oversight of the technological sector by national governments have left the tech industry with a wide margin of discretion on what they are developing. Grey legal areas, unregulated sectors, lack of understanding and the absence of ethical rules have created an uncomfortable and potentially not secure environment for consumers and citizens.

While technological advancements are important and necessary, their control and overview is essential to ensure the respect of the rule of law, societal and ethical values. Ethical and trustworthy AI is an important issue that whistleblowers may be able to act as a suite of safeguards for ethical development and use of AI and other new technologies. This research aims to compare the technological sector in the EU, UK and US in terms of legislation, oversight, and ethical considerations. Once these are assessed, the research will focus on interviews with relevant stakeholders (empirical research). When the legal comparison is done and the interviews are completed, the research will map best practices and drawbacks and solutions will be presented on how to better protect whisteblowers in the tech sector as well as on how to enhance scrutiny. The research will investigate whether whistleblowing protection should be incorporated into an AI Act if the UK enacts one.

Benefits

The successful candidate will receive comprehensive research training including technical, personal and professional skills. All researchers at Coventry University (from PhD to Professor) are part of the Doctoral and Researcher College, which provides support with high-quality training and career development activities.

Entry requirements

• A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average.

PLUS

• The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within 3.5 years.
• A minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS academic overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).

Additional requirements

Master in LLM Law and/or Social Sciences is necessary

How to apply

To find out more about the project, please contact ad8164@coventry.ac.uk.

All applications require full supporting documentation, a covering letter, plus a 2000-word supporting statement showing how the applicant’s expertise and interests are relevant to the project.