With the ever‐increasing popularity of social media, whistle‐blowing, which generally refers to the disclosure of organisational wrongdoing, has entered a new era. Whistle‐blowing via virtual platforms has transformed not just the channel of disclosure, but also the associated motives, processes and outcomes. The impact on the whistle‐blower, the organisation and the public can often be accelerated and is seen as being more significant than traditional whistle‐blowing through internal means or external dedicated authorities or journalists. Yet systematic research on this changing phenomenon is just emerging, and regulation (e.g. for rewards, safeguards or protection) is lagging behind. In this paper, we specifically examine the impetus, as well as the benefits and drawbacks, of using online channels such as social media, blogging or websites, for whistle‐blowing by both employees and non‐employees, taking into consideration recent case law and development. A number of recommendations are proposed for virtual whistle‐blowers, organisations and governments.

中文翻译：

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数字时代的举报：动机，问题和建议

随着社交媒体的日益普及，举报（通常指披露组织的不法行为）已进入一个新时代。通过虚拟平台进行举报不仅改变了公开渠道，而且改变了相关动机，过程和结果。通过内部手段或外部专门机构或新闻工作者，通常可以加速对举报人，组织和公众的影响，并且比传统举报更为重要。然而，关于这种变化现象的系统研究才刚刚出现，而监管（例如，奖励，保障或保护）则滞后。在本文中，我们专门研究了使用在线渠道（例如社交媒体，博客或网站）的动力以及利弊，兼顾雇员和非雇员的举报，同时考虑到最新的判例法和发展。针对虚拟举报者，组织和政府提出了许多建议。