Whistleblowers endangered in digital age, says lawyers' report
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/22/whistleblowers-need-greater-protection-digital-age-media-lawyers-say
According to a report by media lawyers whistleblowers need better legal protection because they are far easier to identify in the digital era and successive laws have undermined their status. The study was held at London University and they say journalists find it increasingly difficult to safeguard the anonymity of their sources due to the monitoring and interception of online and phone conversations. The warning follows the publication earlier this month of a Law Commision review on how to update the Official Secrets Act. It suggested that prison sentences for leaking official information could be significantly increased and dismissed the idea of introducing a public interest defence.
I believe this is a serious issue as the development of digital media has led to secure information being leaked very easily. This means that other information like a 'snitch' reporting to a journalist can be traced and this could lead to crime rates increasing. Especially if its on a larger scale where the whistleblower is from a rival country revealing their country's plans through a digital device, their life would definitely be in danger as the information can be traced.
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