In new research, Sarah Hinck and Jasper van den Boom argue that the European Union’s Digital Markets Act’s (DMA) whistleblower tool does not yet bring enough to the table to effectively incentivize potential informants to report on Big Tech violations.
Prominent whistleblower cases such as those involving Edward Snowden, Francis Haugen, Sarah Wynn-Williams and others who have come forward with sensitive information—often at great personal risk—have sparked debates about how informants should be protected against reprisal. In response, the European Parliament adopted in 2019 the Whistleblower Directive (WBD), formalizing individuals’ rights to come forward anonymously and requiring member states to shield informants from reprisals.
In 2024, the European Commission adapted the WBD to the digital economy and launched the Digital Markets Act (DMA) Whistleblower Tool to help individuals and business users receive guidance and report violations of the EU’s ex ante regulatory regime targeting Big Tech platforms. The tool is meant to bolster effective enforcement to achieve a fair and contestable digital economy. It recognizes the power imbalances between Big Tech and its users, many of whom fear retaliation—such as exclusion from services or algorithmic downgrading— from the Big Tech platforms if they complain openly about their business practices. It allows informers to make submissions anonymously or pseudonymously—a distinction not clearly defined in EU law. The platform...
Claim IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh meets and consoles the family of Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, who has been missing since Operation Sindoor. A video claiming to show Air Chief Marshal...