AI Companies: Publish Your Whistleblowing Policies
A Coalition Call Led by AIWI Was Officially Launched at the National Whistleblower Day Event on Capitol Hill.
Dear AIWI Community,
Today at the National Whistleblower Day event on Capitol Hill, we officially launched our campaign with one clear message:
AI companies must publish their whistleblowing policies.
The Minimum Standard We're Demanding
Our primary ask is straightforward—AI companies must make their whistleblowing policies publicly accessible. This means:
Complete policy documents available to the public
Clear scope of protected individuals and covered wrongdoing
Detailed reporting channels and investigation procedures
Protection and support measures specified
Rights and external reporting options explained
--> Read about the levels: www.publishyourpolicies.org
The Transparency Gap That Must Be Closed
Currently, leading AI companies (Anthropic, Google DeepMind, xAI, Mistral) haven't published their whistleblowing policies. Only OpenAI has done so—and only after public pressure over their restrictive non-disparagement clauses revealed the need for transparency.
Closing this gap is essential. As the Right to Warn letter states: “AI companies possess substantial non-public information about the capabilities and limitations of their systems, the adequacy of their protective measures, and the risk levels of different kinds of harm. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily. So long as there is no effective government oversight of these corporations, current and former employees are among the few people who can hold them accountable to the public.”
https://righttowarn.ai/
Our Unprecedented Coalition
We're not asking alone. Over 30 organizations and experts in whistleblowing and AI focus support this call:
Whistleblowing organizations and individuals supporting the campaign (alphabetical):
Blueprint for Free Speech, Dimitrios Kafteranis (University of Coventry), Government Accountability Project, Human Rights Law Centre, National Whistleblower Center, Psst, The Signals Network, Simon Gerdemann (University of Goettingen), Transparency International, WHISPeR, Whistleblowing International Network, Whistleblower-Netzwerk, Whistleblower Partners LLP, Wim Vandekerckhove (EDHEC Business School)
AI organizations and individuals supporting the campaign (alphabetical):
Center for AI Policy, Centre for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA), Convergence Analysis, Encode, Future of Life Institute, The Future Society, Jessica Newman (Director, AI Security Initiative, University of California, Berkeley), Kartik Hosanagar (The Wharton School), LASST, Lawrence Lessig (Harvard Law School), Legal Safety Lab, The Midas Project, Nathan Labenz (Cognitive Revolution), Peter Salib (University of Houston Law Center), Pour Demain, Roman Yampolskiy (University of Louisville), Secure AI Project, Stuart Russell (University of California, Berkeley), Safer AI
Why Level 1 Is Just the Beginning
Publishing policies is essential, but it's the minimum. We use a tiered transparency framework:
Level 1 (Essential): Policy transparency—making the policies public so stakeholders can evaluate organizational commitment.
Level 2 (True Leadership): Effectiveness transparency—regular public reporting on system outcomes, metrics on reports received/resolved, evidence of improvements, and effectiveness assessments.
Level 2 is what all AI companies should strive for. Only then can we truly evaluate and trust these systems.
The Evidence Is Clear
The ICC Guidelines note that "Employees are often the first to recognize potential wrongdoing or risk of harm." These risks are only visible to insiders. Yet our research shows many AI employees don't know, understand, or trust their companies' internal systems.
Companies across industries—from ASML in tech to ABN Amro in finance—already publish these policies. The ICC 2022 Guidelines explicitly encourage transparency and publication of effectiveness metrics as best practice.
Moving Forward
We're inviting public to see why our initiatives matter while remaining open to collaboration with AI companies. Industry leaders act before pressure mounts—they don't wait for external pressure, or worse; scandals, to lead on the transparency board.
Companies that embrace Level 1 transparency immediately will be recognized as meeting the minimum standard by the public. Those that commit to Level 2 will be celebrated as true AI leaders in accountability.
Your Role
Share our call: www.publishyourpolicies.org
Use hashtag #PublishYourPolicies
If you work in AI, discuss this with your colleagues and leadership
Help us maintain momentum for industry-wide change
We call on AI companies to make their whistleblowing policies public,
The AIWI Team & Coalition Partners