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Blockchain-based whistleblowing service to solve the problem of journalistic conflict of interest

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Abstract

Whistleblowing through newspapers is common. However, the whistleblower may face some problems if the anonymous whistleblowing channel, usually maintained by journalistic organizations, is not reliable. The first problem is the conflict of interest when the whistleblowing involves commercial or political partners of the journalistic organization. The second problem is that, in conflict situations, the whistleblower’s anonymity can be unduly violated. To resolve these issues, we present a blockchain-based anonymous whistleblowing service. Our approach includes a cryptographic scheme based on a ring signature to ensure the whistleblower’s anonymity and, at the same time, give him/her the possibility to prove that he/she is the author of the whistleblowing in the future. Through game theory, we model two scenarios involving anonymous whistleblowing: the first is unfavorable to the whistleblower, and the second is quite favorable. We show that the whistleblowing channel proposed here, exploring blockchain’s properties and the reliability of ring signatures, creates favorable conditions for the whistleblower to feel motivated to disclose the whistleblowing.

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Notes

  1. Generally, easy is defined to mean a problem that can be solved in polynomial time as a function of input length. Thus, if the length of the input is n bits, then the time to compute the function is proportional to na, where a is a fixed constant [23].

  2. Certification authority is a trusted entity that, by law, may issue digital certificates to individuals containing their public key.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Brazil and Federal University of Ceara.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Ceará, Campus of Crateús, Crateús, Brazil

    Antonio Emerson B. Tomaz

  2. Federal University of Ceará, Campus of Sobral, Sobral, Brazil

    José Cláudio do Nascimento

  3. Federal University of Ceará, Campus of Pici, Fortaleza, Brazil

    José Neuman de Souza

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  1. Antonio Emerson B. Tomaz
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  2. José Cláudio do Nascimento
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  3. José Neuman de Souza
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Correspondence to Antonio Emerson B. Tomaz.

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Tomaz, A.E.B., Nascimento, J.C.d. & de Souza, J.N. Blockchain-based whistleblowing service to solve the problem of journalistic conflict of interest. Ann. Telecommun. 77, 101–118 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12243-021-00860-0

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