[PASSED] Repeal "Whistleblower Protection Act"

[Imperium Anglorum]

This is a repeal for a possible project I'm working on with Hulldom to replace his previous resolution.

The World Assembly finds as follows:

1. Privacy is an important right. People who work for the government have privacy rights in the same way normal citizens do. The vast majority of people who work for the government, being inferior officers thereof, take salaries and live peacefully. The provision in section 4, which indemnifies media outlets from punishment for "the dissemination of financial information of a government official", is at best the World Assembly saying that "if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide". At worst, it opens government workers to identity theft and harassment. Privacy rights are sometimes overridden by other important public interests. Release of such information should be judged on a case-by-case basis: a civil servants' personal financial information should not be turned into public knowledge without a credible suspicion of malfeasance.
   
   
2. Section 3 prohibits the media from publishing a person's personally identifying information (such as names) unless that person is party to a crime committed by a government official. This is a substantial limit on the freedom of the press: media outlets would no longer be able to report on crimes committed entirely by private individuals and unconnected to government action. This not only harms press freedom, but also the ability of the press to report on private misdeeds, meaning more unethical behaviour goes unreported, harming society writ large.
   
   
3. Section 6(a) prohibits 'seek[ing] legal recourse' for libel unless the statement was "proven to be demonstrably false". "Proven" is in the past tense. Such a bar in effect closes off all recourse: to have something proven false in a court of law, it must first be proved before a judge, which cannot directly happen because "seek[ing] legal recourse" is prohibited. Both governments and citizens ought to have a right not to be lied about, destroying that right indulges in the worst incentives for misinformation and slander.
   
   
4. Replacement for this vital legislation should be passed which corrects these flaws.

Now, therefore, be "Whistleblower Protection Act" repealed.

Co-authored by Hulldom.

viewtopic.php?p=38422146#p38422146

[Imperium Anglorum]

.

[Bananaistan]

OOC: Link to the target in the OP is usually helpful.

[Imperium Anglorum]

OOC: Link to the target in the OP is usually helpful.

Sure.

[Hulldom]

Am the author, am fully behind this repeal.

[Tinhampton]

Am the author, am fully behind this repeal.

In which case, support.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

The World Assembly finds as follows:

...civil servants' personal financial information should not be turned into public knowledge.

Leo stands and reads a short statement. "We suggest a brief addition to the end of the first paragraph of findings: '...unless they are credibly suspected of malfeasance.' That should be sufficient to guard against libel, while protecting the public's right to keep their officials from hiding corrupt or fraudulent acts."

I'm not worried (in case this runs through your mind) about contradiction or about legislating in a repeal (as GenSec has ruled multiple times that "'should' does nothing."). But both IC and OOC, if a civil servant does in fact do something nefarious, it's a bridge too far to state that their financial information should not be public, full stop.

[Imperium Anglorum]

Bumpity-dump schump da-whump

[Hulldom]

Bumpity-dump schump da-whump

Well this is a way to bump something. Reiterating my full support.

[Simone Republic]

Do we have a replacement yet? I assume between IA and Hulldom we should have a replacement like in no time?

[West Barack and East Obama]

Dr Justin Obama, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Against due to List Item 4. The resolution text is neither vital nor desirable for member nations who wish to uhhhh keep their hidden dealings secret. Some things are better left unsaid if you know what I mean.

[Minskiev]

Am I crazy or is Hulldom's co-authorship a new thing?

[Honeydewistania]

Am I crazy or is Hulldom's co-authorship a new thing?

It has always been on this specific draft/thread, but not on previous attempts on repeal

[Hulldom]

Am I crazy or is Hulldom's co-authorship a new thing?

It has always been on this specific draft/thread, but not on previous attempts on repeal

Correct. IA asked me about cooperating with him on this back when he originally set out to repeal this ~a year ago.

[MesoAmerican cultures]

Welcome to Bumpistan. Was the replacement legislation ready?

[Khar Od]

Retracted

[Hulldom]

The Republic does not believe a standalone repeal is sufficient, this should either be brought forth as an amendment or the draft legislation should include repeal and replace provisions therein.

While we support the idea behind the measure, we cannot support it in its current form as it would leave a gap in legal protections in the interim until such replacement legislation is brought forth to be enacted immediately upon the repeal of the provisions mentioned therein.

Prime Minister Delkhiin Azarga
The Republic of Khar Od

RLM: "We welcome the thoughts of our honourable friends from Khar Od, but we would remind them that prior standing World Assembly rules do not allow for amendment of previously passed legislation."

OOC: Point number 1 under "Repeal Basics".

[Djmekistan]

The whistleblower act was good, and the reasons to repeal it are absolutely incorrect.

[Western states of the republic]

Vote for change, it's the only way to move forward!

[BlobfishHQ]

Well written! Change is the future

[Burgh Island]

Our statement regarding General Assembly Resolution No. 539 to repeal the “Whistleblower Protection Act” can be found here.

[Trattativa]

The supposed flaws in the Whistleblower Act are being misread and blown out of proportion.

Replacing this Act will present more risk and difficulty than it is worth, and would leave a gap during which legitimate whistleblowers will likely be persecuted and silenced by governments throughout the Assembly.

My government strongly recommends a vote against this repeal.

[Outer Sparta]

The supposed flaws in the Whistleblower Act are being misread and blown out of proportion.

Replacing this Act will present more risk and difficulty than it is worth, and would leave a gap during which legitimate whistleblowers will likely be persecuted and silenced by governments throughout the Assembly.

My government strongly recommends a vote against this repeal.

You can always advocate for a replacement that properly ensures stronger protection for whistleblowers.

[Namwenia]

I saw the original authors intend to bring forth a replacement - do we know if this replacement has been prepared? Will it be presented soon?