The top lawyer for the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) said, wrongly, that reporting wrongdoing to the media is not whistleblowing. The BBG passed a resolution threatening employees with punishment if they reveal certain information, which the BBG says is confidential, although it does not deal with national security or foreign policy. When the International Broadcasting Bureau first published the resolution, they omitted the amendment, proposed by BBG Governor Victor Ashe and approved by the Board, that nothing in the resolution limits the rights and protections of whistleblowers. It took these officials several days to correct the mistake.
And now this from the Obama administration on and employee privacy rights in using government email, as reported by Lisa Rein in The Washington Post:
Obama administration warns federal agencies that monitoring employees’ e-mail could violate law
Are officials of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the International Broadcasting Bureau out of step with the Obama administration on whistleblowing and employee privacy?
BBG Watch does not advise government employees to use government computers and email accounts for whistleblowing, private communications, or for contacting us.
We want to thank BBG employees for bringing the Washington Post story to our attention.