Editing Whistleblowing (section)

===European Union===
The [[European Parliament]] approved a "Whistleblower Protection Directive" containing broad [[free speech]] protections for whistleblowers in both the [[public sector|public]] and the [[private sector|private]] sectors, including for journalists, in all [[member states of the European Union]]. The Directive prohibits direct or indirect retaliation against employees, current and former, in the public sector and the private sector. The Directive's protections apply to employees, to volunteers, and to those who assist them, including to [[civil society]] organizations and to journalists who report on their evidence. In October 2021, the EU Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Equality and the Rule of Law emphasized that ministries, as legal entities in the public sector, are also explicitly required to establish internal reporting channels for their employees.<ref>{{cite web |title=ANA LOGO |date=7 November 2021 |url=https://analogo.de/2021/11/07/eu-kommission-auch-ministerien-muessen-whistleblowerschutzkanaele-einrichten/ }}</ref> It provides equal rights for whistleblowers in the [[national security]] sector who challenge the denial or removal of their [[security clearance]]s. Also, whistleblowers are protected from [[prosecutor|criminal prosecution]] and corporate lawsuits for damages resulting from their whistleblowing and are provided with psychological support for dealing with harassment stress.<ref name="commondreams.org">[[Government Accountability Project]], 21 November 2018, "[https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/11/21/european-parliament-panel-approves-whistleblower-protections-all-eu-countries European Parliament Panel Approves Whistleblower Protections for all EU Countries]"</ref>

[[Good government]] observers have hailed the EU directive as setting "the global standard for [[best practice]] rights protecting freedom of speech where it counts the most—challenging abuses of power that betray the [[public trust]]," according to the U.S.-based [[Government Accountability Project]]. They have noted, however, that ambiguities remain in the directive regarding application in some areas, such as "duty speech", that is, when employees report the same information in the course of a job assignment, for example, to a supervisor, instead of whistleblowing as formal [[dissent]]. In fact, duty speech is how the overwhelming majority of whistleblowing information gets communicated and where the free flow of information is needed for an organization's proper functioning. However, it is in response to such "duty speech" employee communication that the vast majority of retaliation against employees occurs. These observers have noted that the Directive must be understood as applying to protection against retaliation for such duty speech because without such an understanding the Directive will "miss the iceberg of what's needed".<ref name="commondreams.org"/>

==== France ====
In [[France]], several recent laws have established a protection regime for whistleblowers. Prior to 2016, there were several laws in force which created disparate legislation with sector-specific regimes. The 2016 [[Law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life|law on transparency, the fight against corruption and modernization of economic life]] (known as the "Sapin 2 Law") provides for the first time a single legal definition of whistleblowers in France. It defines him or her as "''an individual who discloses or reports, in a disinterested manner and  in good faith, a crime or an offence, a serious and manifest breach of an  international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act  of an international organization adopted on the basis of such a commitment, of  the law or regulations, or a serious threat or harm to general interest, which  he or she has become personally aware of.''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sapin II Law: The New French Anticorruption System {{!}} La Loi Sapin II: Le nouveau dispositif français anti-corruption |url=https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2017/11/sapin-ii-law-the-new-french-anticorruption-system |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.morganlewis.com }}</ref> It excludes certain professional secrets such as national defense secrecy, medical secrecy or the secrecy of relations between a lawyer and his client.

In 2022, two laws were passed to transpose the [[Directive (European Union)|European Directive]] 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. One of them strengthens the role of the [[Défenseur des droits]] - the French [[ombudsman]] - tasked with advising and protecting whistleblowers. The second amends the Sapin 2 law to bring it into line with the directive and adds substantial guarantees not included in the directive among which:<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Whistleblowing International Network |title=The new French whistleblowing law: renewed hope for European whistleblowers? |website=www.whistleblowingmonitor.eu/blog |url=https://www.whistleblowingmonitor.eu/blog |access-date=2022-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LOI n° 2022-401 du 21 mars 2022 visant à améliorer la protection des lanceurs d'alerte |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000045388745 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref>

* The definition of whistleblowing in force under the "Sapin 2 Law" – which includes whistleblowing not based on work - has been maintained.
* The protection applies to any natural person who facilitates or assists whistleblowers – as required in the directive – but also to entities such as NGOs ([[Non-governmental organization]]s) or trade unions, which act as a facilitator. They are offered the same level of protection.
* Military personnel will now be afforded the same level of protection as other civil servants, so long as they do not disclose information that may harm national security.
* The law provides that whistleblowers may be granted financial assistance, when subjected to a suit, by making an application to a judge, who has the power to force the suing organization – the employer, for instance - to cover their legal fees and if their financial situation has deteriorated, their living expenses.
* The law provides that whistleblowers shall not incur criminal liability with respect to the acquisition of, or access to, the information that is reported or publicly disclosed. They cannot be sentenced for any offenses committed in order to gather proof or information as long as they obtained it in a lawful manner.
* The law strengthens existing sanctions against those who retaliate against whistleblowers: The criminal sanctions applicable to persons retaliating against whistleblowers can go up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of €45,000. The judges may impose €60,000 fines on companies taking a SLAPP action against a whistleblower.

The law allows any person to apply to the Défenseur des droits for an opinion on his or her status as a whistleblower. A response should be given within six months after receiving the application. The organic law provides that the Défenseur des droits will publish a report every two years on the overall functioning of whistleblower protection addressed to the [[President of France|French President of the Republic]], the President of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]], and the President of the [[Senate (France)|Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LOI organique n° 2022-400 du 21 mars 2022 visant à renforcer le rôle du Défenseur des droits en matière de signalement d'alerte |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFARTI000045388744 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref>