6 ms·

What are the potential legal ramifications for the whistleblower?

CPLX 5y ago
Seeing as how the actual mechanics of the leak were orchestrated by an attorney, and the documents were sent to an enforcement division of the Federal Government, it would be a pretty fair guess that they have considered it and are on solid legal ground.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  Are they operating pro bono? If not, they may simply take the case because it will generate a lot of work for them, and it’s likely that such a public case could attract plenty of donations to fund the cause. Having argued a high profile case against Facebook is a huge reputation boost for a lawyer.
  - CPLX 5y ago
    > Are they operating pro bono? They are a public interest non-profit: https://whistlebloweraid.org/vision/ https://whistlebloweraid.org/vision/
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
That’s a good question. Leaking internal company documents doesn’t automatically grant someone whistleblower protection. She appears to be trying an angle where she claims that Facebook’s activities have harmed shareholders in an attempt to capture some degree of whistleblower protection, but that’s a huge stretch given that she’s arguing they made choices in the interest of profits without violating any actual laws. At this point, I think her best chance is to hope that Facebook will simply try to minimize the legal issue to avoid making her into too much of a martyr.
- Me1000 5y ago
  It's not really an "angle", she worked with a whistleblower protection organization and she specifically gave these documents to the SEC, filing 8 complaints with the regulatory organization. All of that communication is protected. I don't know what the legal implications for leaking to the press are, but that's where her exposure is.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
    Her bigger risk is probably the employment angle. Hard to picture hiring this person except if you're 100% certain your company's behavior aligns with her morals, and you can't find anyone else. Even for people who generally agree with her view on Facebook employing her presents a pretty serious known risk at this point.
    - xxs 5y ago
      She has politics written all over - not to worry.
      - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
        That would be my assumption, or some kind of public policy position. Not to say that her concerns aren't genuine, but she has to be aware that for better or for worse she won't have an easy time finding further work in the industry.
        robbrown451 5y ago
        She'll be fine. She is now globally famous for doing something an awful lot of people think is brave and admirable, and she has also shown off on TV how sharp and eloquent she is. There are a huge number of companies who will jump on the chance to bring her onboard.
    - warent 5y ago
      I'm having doubts, seems that most startups and small/medium businesses will not care at all. Have you seen the market? Engineers are ridiculously scarce. Most hiring managers and execs will just say something like "Great, we're too small and don't do anything like Facebook. Just keep her in the code and restrict access to Google Drive"
- q1w2 5y ago
  I seriously doubt shareholders agree with her angle. > her best chance is to hope that Facebook will simply try to minimize the legal issue to avoid making her into too much of a martyr I suspect the opposite. They will attempt to make an example of her to dissuade subsequent whistleblowers. Social media has a short attention span and forgets its "martyrs" within days.
  - avisser 5y ago
    Doesn't the fact that Facebook shares dropped %5+ yesterday give some credence to that argument? It's obviously more complex than that, but selling is how shareholders would express their agreement.
    - q1w2 5y ago
      The entire tech sector sold off for unrelated reasons. Also, the most concrete expression of shareholder opinions is at the shareholder meetings - which never even mention these subjects.
    - joshmlewis 5y ago
      But the stock has bounced back today. A lot of tech stocks dipped yesterday.
aardvarkr 5y ago
Potentially severe for leaking company IP. There are explicit legal protections for whistleblowing to the SEC but I don't believe there is anything protecting one's right to go to journalists with privileged information. However, Facebook would be 100% insane to press legal charges because that just drags this on even longer and reinforce the perception that they're bullies
- bpodgursky 5y ago
  I don't think I agree. If they don't enforce a precedent of consequences for leaking confidential documents, it will be a complete breakdown of operational security (everyone will feel free to leak memos and documents).
  - fullshark 5y ago
    And ultimately it's gonna be the call of a single person in the entire company.
- q1w2 5y ago
  They have no choice. They MUST enforce their IP. That's how IP law works. If you don't contest it - you lose ownership of it.
propogandist 5y ago
anything FB does against her will undermine the PR damage control campaigns underway. They may wait for all this to "blow over" and then try to go after her once their very expensive campaigns make some impact. It's more likely that they will collude with other big tech firm and lobby for aggressive legislation against whistleblowers to prevent something like this from ever happening. Edit -- there are reports suggesting the whistleblower is represented by the PR firm where the current US govt press secretary held a SVP role, so her case is unofficially aligned to the current administrations agenda: https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1445438141775683584 https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1445438141775683584
- ahdeanz 5y ago
  Coming in with the amplification of alt right conspiracy theorists hot take... How meta.
  - whatthesmack 5y ago
    How is that "alt-right" (whatever that means) or a "conspiracy theory"? It is a direct connection that would be looked into by anybody, including Facebook, who is investigating the information Frances leaked.
N00bN00b 5y ago
No more Facebook for her.
chipgap98 5y ago
I don't think it is what you are getting at, but she may be entitled to financial compensation if Facebook is fined as a result of her whistleblowing. > Whistleblower awards can range from 10-30% of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. [0]: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-149 https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-149
culebron21 5y ago
This program says there's an act passed 10 years ago protecting whistleblowers who report internal documents to the state. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-misinformation-public-60-minutes-2021-10-03/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-...
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  Whistleblowing to the state is different than going on a media tour. The protections for the former don’t extend to the latter.
boringg 5y ago
Depends how she play it. From a work perspective she sadly might have a tough time getting employed at other companies. It would depend on how she plays the next bit though. That said I wouldn't be surprised if theres a book that comes out of this given the amount of media already surrounding this. I am curious what her longer term goals are - she is clearly intelligent, has solid PM experience in the industry and is certainly aware of what she is doing. I'm guessing there is a strategy of some sort at play - maybe leading an NFP for better corporate practices. Best of luck either way hope this changes things in a meaningful way!
lr4444lr 5y ago
What could come out in court if they shut her up could be much more damaging to FB's reputation than it's worth, and it'd probably be hard to find a jury likely to convict her when she hasn't directly gained financially from it.

CPLX 5y ago

Seeing as how the actual mechanics of the leak were orchestrated by an attorney, and the documents were sent to an enforcement division of the Federal Government, it would be a pretty fair guess that they have considered it and are on solid legal ground.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
Are they operating pro bono? If not, they may simply take the case because it will generate a lot of work for them, and it’s likely that such a public case could attract plenty of donations to fund the cause. Having argued a high profile case against Facebook is a huge reputation boost for a lawyer.
- CPLX 5y ago
  > Are they operating pro bono? They are a public interest non-profit: https://whistlebloweraid.org/vision/ https://whistlebloweraid.org/vision/

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

That’s a good question. Leaking internal company documents doesn’t automatically grant someone whistleblower protection. She appears to be trying an angle where she claims that Facebook’s activities have harmed shareholders in an attempt to capture some degree of whistleblower protection, but that’s a huge stretch given that she’s arguing they made choices in the interest of profits without violating any actual laws. At this point, I think her best chance is to hope that Facebook will simply try to minimize the legal issue to avoid making her into too much of a martyr.

Me1000 5y ago
It's not really an "angle", she worked with a whistleblower protection organization and she specifically gave these documents to the SEC, filing 8 complaints with the regulatory organization. All of that communication is protected. I don't know what the legal implications for leaking to the press are, but that's where her exposure is.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
  Her bigger risk is probably the employment angle. Hard to picture hiring this person except if you're 100% certain your company's behavior aligns with her morals, and you can't find anyone else. Even for people who generally agree with her view on Facebook employing her presents a pretty serious known risk at this point.
  - xxs 5y ago
    She has politics written all over - not to worry.
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
      That would be my assumption, or some kind of public policy position. Not to say that her concerns aren't genuine, but she has to be aware that for better or for worse she won't have an easy time finding further work in the industry.
      - robbrown451 5y ago
        She'll be fine. She is now globally famous for doing something an awful lot of people think is brave and admirable, and she has also shown off on TV how sharp and eloquent she is. There are a huge number of companies who will jump on the chance to bring her onboard.
  - warent 5y ago
    I'm having doubts, seems that most startups and small/medium businesses will not care at all. Have you seen the market? Engineers are ridiculously scarce. Most hiring managers and execs will just say something like "Great, we're too small and don't do anything like Facebook. Just keep her in the code and restrict access to Google Drive"
q1w2 5y ago
I seriously doubt shareholders agree with her angle. > her best chance is to hope that Facebook will simply try to minimize the legal issue to avoid making her into too much of a martyr I suspect the opposite. They will attempt to make an example of her to dissuade subsequent whistleblowers. Social media has a short attention span and forgets its "martyrs" within days.
- avisser 5y ago
  Doesn't the fact that Facebook shares dropped %5+ yesterday give some credence to that argument? It's obviously more complex than that, but selling is how shareholders would express their agreement.
  - q1w2 5y ago
    The entire tech sector sold off for unrelated reasons. Also, the most concrete expression of shareholder opinions is at the shareholder meetings - which never even mention these subjects.
  - joshmlewis 5y ago
    But the stock has bounced back today. A lot of tech stocks dipped yesterday.

aardvarkr 5y ago

Potentially severe for leaking company IP. There are explicit legal protections for whistleblowing to the SEC but I don't believe there is anything protecting one's right to go to journalists with privileged information. However, Facebook would be 100% insane to press legal charges because that just drags this on even longer and reinforce the perception that they're bullies

bpodgursky 5y ago
I don't think I agree. If they don't enforce a precedent of consequences for leaking confidential documents, it will be a complete breakdown of operational security (everyone will feel free to leak memos and documents).
- fullshark 5y ago
  And ultimately it's gonna be the call of a single person in the entire company.
q1w2 5y ago
They have no choice. They MUST enforce their IP. That's how IP law works. If you don't contest it - you lose ownership of it.

propogandist 5y ago

anything FB does against her will undermine the PR damage control campaigns underway. They may wait for all this to "blow over" and then try to go after her once their very expensive campaigns make some impact. It's more likely that they will collude with other big tech firm and lobby for aggressive legislation against whistleblowers to prevent something like this from ever happening. Edit -- there are reports suggesting the whistleblower is represented by the PR firm where the current US govt press secretary held a SVP role, so her case is unofficially aligned to the current administrations agenda: https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1445438141775683584 https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1445438141775683584

ahdeanz 5y ago
Coming in with the amplification of alt right conspiracy theorists hot take... How meta.
- whatthesmack 5y ago
  How is that "alt-right" (whatever that means) or a "conspiracy theory"? It is a direct connection that would be looked into by anybody, including Facebook, who is investigating the information Frances leaked.

N00bN00b 5y ago

No more Facebook for her.

chipgap98 5y ago

I don't think it is what you are getting at, but she may be entitled to financial compensation if Facebook is fined as a result of her whistleblowing. > Whistleblower awards can range from 10-30% of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. [0]: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-149 https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-149

culebron21 5y ago

This program says there's an act passed 10 years ago protecting whistleblowers who report internal documents to the state. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-misinformation-public-60-minutes-2021-10-03/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-...

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
Whistleblowing to the state is different than going on a media tour. The protections for the former don’t extend to the latter.

boringg 5y ago

Depends how she play it. From a work perspective she sadly might have a tough time getting employed at other companies. It would depend on how she plays the next bit though. That said I wouldn't be surprised if theres a book that comes out of this given the amount of media already surrounding this. I am curious what her longer term goals are - she is clearly intelligent, has solid PM experience in the industry and is certainly aware of what she is doing. I'm guessing there is a strategy of some sort at play - maybe leading an NFP for better corporate practices. Best of luck either way hope this changes things in a meaningful way!

lr4444lr 5y ago

What could come out in court if they shut her up could be much more damaging to FB's reputation than it's worth, and it'd probably be hard to find a jury likely to convict her when she hasn't directly gained financially from it.