The Intercept, together with the international news organizations Die Zeit, Mediapart, The Daily Telegraph, and WikiTribune, welcomes information from whistleblowers 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 increasingly influencing the democratic process.

Do you have information about a tech firm doing something wrong or mishandling data? If you believe in good faith that 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, health care, law enforcement, machine learning/AI, or any other field. Whistleblowers 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 risen 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 state interference.

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

A great tip provides specific evidence of wrongdoing – not rumor 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. (Please consult these source guidelines first.)

If you want your story to have the chance to reach a global audience of more than 46 million in three languages (English, French, German), make sure to include the words “The Big Data Call” when you contact us.

The Signals Network

The Intercept, together with Die Zeit, Mediapart, The Daily Telegraph, and WikiTribune, are partnering with The Signals Network, an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advances the public interest by encouraging and facilitating media investigations that foster transparency and public accountability through in-depth reporting and whistleblowing.

The Signals Network is an independent foundation dedicated to supporting media collaborations, maximizing the social impact of published investigations, and providing support to selected whistleblowers. 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:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

PGP Public Key: 46DA8CB662C39B0350B1B769A74A822EA650CA94

All the media partners simultaneously receive the information shared via 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 doesn’t store a log of who you communicate with, or who communicates with you. You can also set it to erase messages so 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 easy. Here’s how:

Open the Signal app and tap the pen icon (at the top-right on an iPhone, 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 at the email addresses below, your email and communications might be traceable by third parties with malicious intent.

[email protected]

[email protected]

lanceurda[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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 going to 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.

The Intercept (FLM)

114 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York, 10011

USA

Die Zeit

z. Hd Karsten Polke-Majewski

Buceriusstrasse Eingang Speersort 1

20095 Hamburg

Deutschland

Mediapart

8, passage Brulon

75012 Paris

France

The Daily Telegraph

111 Buckingham Palace Road

London, SW1W 0DT

United Kingdom

WikiTribune

38 Berkeley Square

London, W1J 5AE

United Kingdom

The main journalists involved in this call for information are:

The Intercept: Sam Biddle, Ryan Tate, Micah Lee

Die Zeit: Holger Stark, Karsten Polke-Majewski, Sascha Venohr

Mediapart: Yann Philippin, Fabrice Arfi

The Daily Telegraph: Claire Newell

WikiTribune: Jack Barton