The Signals Network

The Signals Network (TSN) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports whistleblowers who have shared public interest information with the public. It is one of a group of whistleblower organizations attached to the United States Congress.^[1] TSN has also helped coordinate international media investigations that speak out against corporate misconduct and human rights abuses.^[1] The Signals Network is an associate partner of Whistleblowing International Network.^[2]

The Signals Network

Type	Non-profit organization
Headquarters	San Francisco, CA
Key people	Delphine Halgand-Mishra (Executive Director) Kate Miller (Chief of Staff) Margaux Ewen (Legal Director) Gilles Raymond (Founder)
Website	thesignalsnetwork.org

TSN was founded by Gilles Raymond, a French entrepreneur and philanthropist who serves as the organization's founding chairman.^[3][4] TSN’s Executive Director is Delphine Halgand-Mishra.^[5][6] TSN’s Whistleblower Protection Program helps whistleblowers deal with the legal, physical, psychological and economic consequences of speaking out.^[7]

Activities (cases)

The Signals Network represents Twitter whistleblower Anika Collier Navaroli, who provided testimony to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and provides her with support through its Whistleblower Protection Program.^[8] Government Accountability Project joined The Signals Network as co-counsel for Anika Navaroli for testifying on February 8, 2023, to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability during a hearing titled "Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story."^[9]

Since July 2022, The Signals Network has represented Mark MacGann,^[10] the whistleblower behind the Uber files case.^[11] In October 2022, MacGann testified before the European Parliament’s Employment Committee about the Uber Files and the impact of the gig economy on worker’s rights. Prior to the hearing, the Signals Network sent a letter to the Chair of the committee, objecting to the proposed setup for the hearing, which would have seen MacGann and a representative of Uber representatives sharing the same panel. The letter set out The Signals Network’s concerns about the failure of the Committee to follow the recently passed European Directive on Whistleblowing and to take into account the impact of the proposed format on MacGann. In response to the letter, the European Commission altered the format for MacGann’s testimony.^{[12] [13]}

The Signals Network has provided whistleblower protection including legal and psychological services to Daniel Motaung, a former Facebook content moderator who came forward to TIME sharing his story of trauma, poverty wages and alleged union busting inside a Facebook content moderation center in Kenya. Time magazine reporter Billy Perrigo wrote the February 2022 front-cover story based on Motaung’s testimony titled “Inside Facebook’s African Sweatshop.”^[14]

The Signals Network coordinated the international media consortium that reported EdTech Exposed, an independent collaborative investigation that had early access to Human Rights Watch’s report, data, and technical evidence on alleged violations of children’s rights by governments that endorsed education technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The consortium provided weeks of independent reporting by more than 25 investigative journalists on six continents and seven languages. The potential reach for the EdTech Exposed story is more than 185 million readers in seven languages.^[15][16]

The Signals Network coordinated the logistics of the media partners’ collaboration on publishing an investigation into the working conditions at the Chinese technology company Huawei. The controversial telecoms giant, which has been classed as a national security threat by the US government, stated in its HR handbook that Chinese employees who have married Europeans or applied for citizenship must leave Europe “as soon as possible”, or be sacked from the company altogether.^[17]

Funding

TSN has received grants from the Shuttleworth Foundation^[18] and the Knight Foundation.^[19]

References

1. The Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds: list of whistleblower organizations Accessed May 12, 2023.
2. Whistleblower Network Associates Accessed May 12, 2023.
3. "Whistleblowers Need A Safety Net, So We Made One". BuzzFeed. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 17 Nov 2023.
4. "Column: Whistleblowers need help. This tech entrepreneur wants to provide it". Los Angeles Times. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 17 Nov 2023.
5. "The Centre for Investigative Journalism". The Centre for Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
6. "The Signals Network team page". The Signals Network. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
7. "The Signals Network Aims to Protect Whistleblowers and Help Media Groups Receive Tips". Editor & Publisher Magazine. October 8, 2019.
8. "Twitter Whistleblower Anika Collier Navaroli to Testify at House Oversight Hearing". Government Accountability Project. 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
9. "Republicans Mishandle First Oversight Hearing". Washington Spectator. March 2, 2023.
10. "The Uber whistleblower: I'm exposing a system that sold people a lie". The Guardian. July 11, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
11. "Reaction to Uber whistleblower testimony at the EU Parliament". International Journalism Festival. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
12. "'We co-opted democracy,' Uber Files whistleblower tells European Parliament". The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
13. "Whistleblower threatens to pull out of Uber hearing". POLITICO. October 13, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
14. "Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop". TIME. February 17, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
15. "Governments Harm Children's Rights in Online Learning". Human Rights Watch. 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
16. "Remote learning apps shared children's data at a 'dizzying scale'". The Washington Post. May 24, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
17. "Huawei expat employees that marry westerners faced being forced to leave Europe or be sacked, investigation reveals". The Telegraph. January 31, 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
18. The Shuttleworth Foundation Accessed July 16, 2023.
19. The Knight Foundation Accessed July 16, 2023.