Can tech whistleblowers make a difference?

Whistleblower Frances Haugen says she hates attention so much she stopped throwing birthday parties years ago. She never wanted the world to know her name. And the idea of stepping in front of thousands of people gives her anxiety.

And yet, the data scientist decided to give up her anonymity to expose wrongdoing at tech giant Facebook, she told some 20,000 visitors during the opening night of the WebSummit technology conference this week in Lisbon.

"I learned things that, I believe, put lives at jeopardy," Haugen said, detailing how during the nearly two years she worked at the company, she saw how the platform repeatedly prioritized divisive content because it was more profitable.

Facebook, which recently changed the name of its parent company to Meta, has rejected her accusations, arguing that the thousands of internal documents she unearthed paint a false picture of its inner workings. But the revelations have thrown the firm under some of the most intense scrutiny in its 16-year history — and they have prompted new calls to better regulate the tech industry.

The question now is if those calls will lead to lasting change — and that will not be up to whistleblowers but policymakers, Haugen's attorney cautioned.

"Once those disclosures are out there, it is the job of other people to take them and make sure that there is accountability," John Tye, the founder of Washington-based nonprofit Whistleblower Aid, told DW at WebSummit.

David and Goliath

Tye's client is the latest former employee who has come forward to expose wrongdoing in the tech industry — despite the risks that come with taking on multibillion corporations, and the prospect of being blacklisted in an industry where networking is important.

Other whistleblowers have included Timnit Gebru, a former AI ethics researcher at Google; Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, previously employed at Amazon; and former Apple contractor Thomas le Bonniec. Their rising number has led some observers to speak of an "era of tech whistleblowing."

But although their disclosures have, to varying degrees, raised attention beyond the tech world, most of them have fizzled without having any real legal impact.

Frances Haugen's attorney Tye — himself a whistleblower, who in 2014 disclosed electronic surveillance practices by the US State Department — cautioned that before new laws can be passed, a better understanding of the issues needs to develop both among the general public and policymakers.

"It takes time," he said.

Cambridge Analytica case

Another tech industry insider who knows a thing or two about this issue is Brittany Kaiser.

Now 35, Kaiser became known in 2018 when she released documents revealing how her former employer, consultancy Cambridge Analytica, had harvested the information of millions of Facebook users to sway elections from Trinidad and Tobago to the United States.

The disclosure set off a global furor, with policymakers around the world demanding an end to the business model.

But three and a half years later, many firms still use similar strategies to profile social media users and influence their voting decisions.

"Instead of one Cambridge Analytica, there are now hundreds of Cambridge Analyticas," Kaiser said in an interview with DW.

And yet, she is convinced that her disclosures have helped boost attention for online privacy and data protection.

"I don't only believe that what I did was worth it, but I think it was essential to take a hold of the public zeitgeist," Kaiser said. "I would do it again — but I would do it earlier."

Frances Haugen effect?

Years after Kaiser's revelations brought attention to how voters are profiled online, there are indications that change is coming.

Speaking to journalists during WebSummit, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova announced that in late November, the EU would release a draft law to introduce tougher rules for online political advertising. "Our democracies are too precious for this 'move fast and break things' attitude," she said.

Referring to the disclosures made by Kaiser and a second whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, she added: "If it wasn't for scandals like Cambridge Analytica, we wouldn't be able to convince people that regulation is necessary."

Others say they believe the momentum created by Frances Haugen's disclosures — whose sheer volume has trumped all previous tech industry leaks — will also help previous revelations have a belated impact.

"I am very thankful that Frances was able to prove a lot of the things that Chris Wylie and I were accusing Facebook of," said Kaiser. "Time will tell if, in the next couple of months or the next year or two, we will be able to implement the kind of changes we need to see."