WikiLeaks: Between disclosure and whistle‐blowing in digital times

Abstract

The 2010 WikiLeaks' disclosures of U.S. war logs were the first megaleaks to shake the world of international diplomacy and political elites. Since then, more leaks followed, from the Snowden to the Panama Papers. As this phenomenon continues to evolve, a significant body of scholarly work has analysed the emergence, the struggle, and the history of WikiLeaks .This article aims to provide a cross

Metadata Laws, Journalism and Resistance in Australia

“…I have argued elsewhere (Brevini, 2017) that the revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden triggered the birth of a new "new culture of disclosure" that has seen journalists, lawyers and software developers coming together to develop secure online protections and security of their sources. One of the most famous examples are Secure Drop and GlobaLeaks (Brevini, 2017) projects that aim at supporting the practice of whistleblowing by giving people the software tools necessary to start their own initiative.…”

“…In this context, the Snowden leaks (Brevini, 2017) and their challenges to state secrets can explain the haste that has characterised discussion and implementation of three major pieces of new national security laws in Australia between 2014 and 2015. As Attorney General George Brandis explained during the reading of the bill amending the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (ASIO Act) and the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (IS Act), the reform is justified by a clear intent to curb whistleblowing activities:…”

“…GlobaLeaks does not handle any leaked documents but assists in the potential creation of whistleblowing sites such as OpenLeaks, MafiaLeaks, BalkanLeaks and BrusselsLeaks. However, there is also a more mainstream response to metadata laws: The New Yorker, the US not-for-profit investigative newsroom ProPublica, the Pierre Omidyarbacked start-up The Intercept and The Guardian are just a few examples of news providers that implemented a newly created open-source whistleblowing platformSecureDrop to guarantee protections for their sources (Brevini, 2017).…”

“…One of the most famous examples are Secure Drop and GlobaLeaks (Brevini, 2017) projects that aim at supporting the practice of whistleblowing by giving people the software tools necessary to start their own initiative. Unlike WikiLeaks (Brevini & Murdock, 2013), GlobaLeaks is an open-source software provider whose intentions are focussed on providing a platform for whistleblowers to use.…”

“…The intelligence leaks from Edward Snowden in 2013 unveiled the sophistication and extent of data collection by the US's National Security Agency and major global digital firms prompting domestic and international debates about the balance between security and privacy, openness and enclosure, accountability and secrecy (Brevini, 2017). While many authors (Andrejevic, 2002(Andrejevic, , 2013Lyon, 2014;Van Dijck, 2014) have warned about massive data collection by governments and businesses as a challenge to civil rights, there a need to encourage further public discussion around the world on the chilling effect that these data retention frameworks can have on freedom of the press, on journalists and on their ability to exert their traditional watchdog function (Lashmar, 2016).…”