The Signals Network

The Signals Network represents whistleblower Joshua Farinella, a former general manager at Choice Canning Company’s shrimp processing factory in India, who disclosed evidence of food safety, labor and human rights abuses.{{Cite web|date=2024-03-20|title=An American took his dream job in India. What he found was something else entirely.|url=https://www.theoutlawocean.com/investigations/india-shrimp-a-growing-goliath/the-whistleblower/|access-date=2025-02-06|website=The Outlaw Ocean Project|language=en-US}} Following Farinella’s revelations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began refusing shrimp imports from the company after tests detected veterinary drugs in recent shipments. The Signals Network assisted Farinella in filing whistleblower reports with the FDA, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. lawmakers.{{Cite web|date=2024-05-20|title=Impact: U.S. agency inspects, refuses shrimp imports following TSN whistleblower's disclosures.|url=https://thesignalsnetwork.org/impact-u-s-agency-inspects-refuses-shrimp-imports-following-tsn-whistleblowers-disclosures/|access-date=2025-02-06|website=The Signals Network|language=en-US}} The case drew significant attention, with the House Committee on Natural Resources requesting access to Farinella’s evidence and two congressmembers urging President Joe Biden to halt shrimp imports from India. This case highlights broader concerns, as reports reveal widespread human rights and environmental abuses in India’s shrimp industry, alongside minimal FDA testing of imports.

The Signals Network represented 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.{{Cite web|date=2023-02-08|title=Twitter Whistleblower Anika Collier Navaroli to Testify at House Oversight Hearing|url=https://whistleblower.org/press/press-release-twitter-whistleblower-anika-collier-navaroli-to-testify-at-house-oversight-hearing/|access-date=2023-05-12|website=Government Accountability Project|language=en-US}}

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."{{cite news|title=Republicans Mishandle First Oversight Hearing|url=https://washingtonspectator.org/republicans-mishandle-first-oversight-hearing/|newspaper=Washington Spectator|date=March 2, 2023}}

In July 2022, The Signals Network represented Mark MacGann,{{cite news|title=The Uber whistleblower: I'm exposing a system that sold people a lie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jul/11/uber-files-whistleblower-lobbyist-mark-macgann|newspaper=The Guardian|date=July 11, 2022|access-date=2023-05-12}} the whistleblower behind the Uber files case.{{Cite web|title=Reaction to Uber whistleblower testimony at the EU Parliament|url=https://www.journalismfestival.com/programme/2023/to-go-public-or-not-go-public-behind-a-whistleblowers-personal-decision-process|access-date=2023-05-12|website=International Journalism Festival|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web|date=2022-10-25|title=

'We co-opted democracy,' Uber Files whistleblower tells European Parliament|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/uber-files/we-co-opted-democracy-uber-files-whistleblower-tells-european-parliament/|access-date=2023-05-12|website=The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.|language=en-US}}

{{cite news|title=Whistleblower threatens to pull out of Uber hearing |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/whistleblower-slams-format-of-uber-hearing/|newspaper=POLITICO|date=October 13, 2022|access-date=2023-05-12}}

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.”{{cite news|title=Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop |url=https://time.com/6147458/facebook-africa-content-moderation-employee-treatment/|newspaper=TIME|date=February 17, 2022|access-date=2023-05-12}}

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.{{Cite web|date=2022-05-25|title=Governments Harm Children's Rights in Online Learning|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/25/governments-harm-childrens-rights-online-learning|access-date=2023-05-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en-US}}{{cite news|title=Remote learning apps shared children's data at a 'dizzying scale' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/24/remote-school-app-tracking-privacy/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 24, 2022|access-date=2023-05-31}}

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.{{cite news|title=Huawei expat employees that marry westerners faced being forced to leave Europe or be sacked, investigation reveals |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/13/huawei-expat-employees-marry-westerners-faced-forced-leave-europe/|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=January 31, 2021|access-date=2023-05-12}}

TSN has received grants from the Shuttleworth FoundationThe Shuttleworth Foundation [https://twitter.com/ShuttleworthFdn/status/1366408176120307713] Accessed July 16, 2023. and the Knight Foundation.The Knight Foundation [https://knightfoundation.org/articles/as-the-number-of-whistleblowers-expands-knight-lends-a-hand/] Accessed July 16, 2023.

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Category:Whistleblower support organizations