The Big Data Call for information

If you work in the technology industry, act in good faith and have information suggesting the public is being harmed, exploited or misled by powerful corporations with access to big data, we want to hear from you.

The Telegraph, together with the international news organizations Die Zeit, El Mundo, McClatchy, Mediapart, Republik and The Intercept, welcomes information from whistle-blowers within the technology industry.

This sector has enhanced and transformed our lives. Big data wields extraordinary influence, holding some of our most personal secrets, sometimes working hand in hand with intelligence agencies or other private corporations, and generating ever-greater sway over the democratic process.

Do you have information about a tech firm doing something wrong or mishandling data? If you believe in good faith the public is being harmed, exploited or misled, we want to hear from you, whether the data in question is being used for social media, marketing, healthcare, law enforcement, machine learning/AI, or any other field. Whistle-blowers may be able to shed light on commonly misunderstood or questioned practices, for example, why companies have chosen specific product updates and their effect on consumers.

Concerns have arisen in recent years about tech companies manipulating users, misusing their data, or inappropriately targeting children. Corporations and governments have been accused of harnessing big data to manipulate the democratic process, and tech companies have been criticized for helping authoritarian regimes quash dissent. These actions raise significant questions about how digital platforms respond to the spread of fake news and to state interference.

If you believe the public is being harmed, exploited or misled, we want to hear from you.

A great tip provides specific evidence of wrongdoing – not rumour or speculation.

If you want to shine a light on an area that is core to our lives and related to big data, we want to hear from you. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/contact-us/

If you want your story to have the chance to reach a global audience of more than 144 million in four languages (English, French, German, Spanish), make sure to include the words “The Big Data Call ” when you make contact with us.

The Signals Network

The Telegraph, together with Die Zeit, El Mundo, McClatchy, Mediapart, Republik and The Intercept are partnering with The Signals Network — an American 501(c)3 non-profit organization that advances the public interest by encouraging and facilitating media investigations that foster the ideals of transparency and public accountability through in-depth reporting and whistle-blowing.

The Signals Network is an independent foundation dedicated to supporting media collaborations, to maximizing the social impact of published investigations and to providing support to selected whistle-blowers. You can learn more about The Signals Network here.

How Can Whistleblowers answer “The Big Data call” for information?

If you want your story to have the chance to reach the global audience of the combined news organizations, make sure to include the words “The Big Data Call” when you make contact.

You can reach the media of the “Big Data Call”
via the encrypted app Signal at +1 646 846 0596.
Or you can send us an email using PGP encryption at:
whistleblower@zeit.de
pistas@elmundo.es
whistleblower@miamiherald.com
lanceurdalerte@mediapart.fr
whistleblower@republik.ch
whistleblower@telegraph.co.uk
whistleblower@theintercept.com

PGP Public Key: 46DA8CB662C39B0350B1B769A74A822EA650CA94

All the media partners receive simultaneously the information shared via the encrypted app Signal at this number and via these email addresses.

Journalists of these media are monitoring these two channels.

Signal Messenger

Signal is an encrypted instant-messaging and phone-call app. Signal stores your number, but it doesn’t store a log of who you communicate with, or who communicates with you.

You can also set it to erase messages so that they no longer exist on your phone, the recipient’s phone, or in the cloud.

You can download Signal for Android or iPhone.

Using Signal is pretty easy. Here’s how:

Open the Signal app and tap the pen icon (in the top-right on an iPhone, in the bottom-right on Android) to start a new message. Type our phone number in the search box, +1 646 846 0596. From there, you can send us an encrypted Signal message.

Follow this guide to help lock down your phone and make sure what happens in your Signal app is more private.

Only written messages and documents should be sent through Signal.

No phone calls will be answered. No classic text messages will be monitored.

Email Us using PGP encryption

You can send us encrypted email using Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software. If you have a preferred PGP tool, such as Mailvelope, feel free to use that. Who you communicate with will usually be stored, but the contents of the message will be encrypted. If you choose to email us using the email addresses given below, your email and communications might be traceable by third parties with malicious intent.
whistleblower@zeit.de
pistas@elmundo.es
whistleblower@miamiherald.com
lanceurdalerte@mediapart.fr
whistleblower@republik.ch
whistleblower@telegraph.co.uk
whistleblower@theintercept.com

PGP Public Key: 46DA8CB662C39B0350B1B769A74A822EA650CA94

Send Us Mail

Regular postal mail can also be a secure way to communicate, especially if you put the mail in a drop box rather than go inside a post office.

Keep in mind that USPS monitors the packaging of everything sent through the postal system. This includes the location from which you send your parcel, and it might include a sample of your handwriting. If law enforcement searches your parcel before it reaches us, they’ll be able to see whatever you’re sending, which could include your fingerprints, as well as tracking information embedded in documents, such as printer tracking dots.

Drop it in a public mailbox (do not send it from home, work or a post office) with no return address.