The documents he took from the company were explained in an accurate and methodical way: a window on the inner workings of Facebook. It was an extraordinary moment of media theater, Frances’s testimony reverberated around the world.
But last week could be significant for the future of Silicon Valley tip-offs for another reason. On Thursday night, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, signed the Silenced No More Act into law.
The legislation was promoted by Ifeoma Ozoma, a whistleblower who worked for Pinterest. She came forward with allegations of racism against the company in June last year, allegations on which Pinterest told the press that he did not want to comment.
In doing so, one realizes that the law was strangely misinterpreted. It is no secret that nondisclosure agreements can be used in the United States to silence employees. It was something that surfaced over and over again during the revelations of the #MeToo.
California lawmakers responded by introducing a law that protected whistleblowers in sexual harassment cases. But Ms. Ozoma realized that the law did not protect other forms of alleged discrimination, such as racism. He has since fought to change the law.
And on Thursday he did just that. “The act allows anyone in California, regardless of language in an NDA … to talk about their experiences with discrimination, harassment or any other wrongdoing”says Ms. Ozoma.
This is a big change for state law in California. Overnight, legal arrangements trying to stop employees from coming forward were severely limited. Silicon Valley has traditionally been a terrible place for whistleblowers. Cori Crider, of Foxglove, a group that helps whistleblowers, said something shocking last month:
“I’ve spent over a decade working in homeland security and a lot of the time I feel like Silicon Valley guys are playing the CIA game book on this stuff.”
Being an informant everywhere is difficult. But when it comes to technology, it can be especially true. “Think about the surveillance capabilities of these companies … you have to assume they have access to every single thing you are doing”says Mrs. Ozoma.
Silicon Valley is a paranoid place, and with good reason. Intellectual property and proprietary technology are the origins of much of a company’s value. You don’t want your employees to run away to another company with your trade secrets.
Tech companies, however, they have been accused of insinuating themselves into the secrecy of the missions, using well-formulated agreements to prevent employees from raising legitimate concerns.
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Allegations of sexual harassment “should not be silenced”. Cher Scarlett is a software engineer at Apple. Last month he filed a complaint against the company with the US National Labor Relations Board, claiming the company cracked down on attempts to organize workers.
In its filings, it claims Apple has repeatedly blocked employee efforts to review and discuss pay, something the tech giant hasn’t commented on. Mrs. Scarlett was unsure whether she could publicly raise her concerns or the legal implications in the documents he signed when he started the job.
“You know, for anyone who isn’t a lawyer, that’s scary… I don’t have the experience to understand legal jargon. It’s very, very heavy, and you end up with a lot of control and hostility ”.
Timnit Gebru claims she was fired by Google in December last year. He accused the company of institutional racism and suppression of research. Google apologized for the circumstances in which it left the company. Ms. Gebru says that facing a society with unlimited resources is scary. “The cost is not a joke”, He says. “Lawyers cost a lot and you don’t even know if it’s worth it.”
And then there is advertising. When Ms Gebru made the claims, she was suddenly catapulted into international limelight. His phone started ringing repeatedly.
“I haven’t had time to process any of this, emotionally, I haven’t had time. I was constantly on the phone, with other employees and talking to the press. I knew it was very important that my story was published before Google’s “
Being an informant can be daunting and it is necessary to have financial support.
Elizabeth Holmes is currently being tried in San Jose for fraud. The company she founded and managed, Theranos, claimed to be able to diagnose hundreds of diseases with just a few drops of blood, which is obviously impossible.
Tyler Shultz, who worked at the company, he was instrumental in exposing the scandal. Tyler was brave, but he’s also the nephew of former Secretary of State George Shultz, and he was able to afford the lawyers when Ms. Theranos tried to intimidate him with threatening letters.
Ms Haugen’s testimony might inspire many, but the international scrutiny she received, Facebook’s outright rejection, could intimidate others. And then there’s the age-old problem that whistleblowers have: the fear that if they speak openly they will become unemployable.
“I think a lot of people are worried that they won’t be able to find another job after they step forward,” says Ms. Scarlett.
All of this helps explain why the media is so enthusiastic about people like Ms. Haugen. It’s not the first, but it’s rare for people to step forward, and Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg. “It is a deeply personal decision that is based on people’s personal situations and their circumstances”says Ms. Ozoma.
He has written a handbook for whistleblowers to help them understand how the process might turn out, what to expect and how to prepare, he hopes it will help employees who are considering taking the plunge.
Yet despite the California law change, Ms. Ozoma still believes that the system is against coming forward. And until that changes, scenes like last week’s Senate hearing will be the exception.