GlobaLeaks is an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, n ...

intended to enable secure and

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anony ...

whistleblowing A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

initiatives.

History

The project started on 15 December 2010 and the first software prototype was announced on 6 September 2011. Relevant figures in the first development are Arturo Filastò, Claudio Agosti, Fabio Pietrosanti, Giovanni Pellerano, Michele Orrù.

Operation

GlobaLeaks utilizes Tor Onion Services in order to guarantee the anonymity of the source. Once the submission is performed the data is encrypted and made available only to configured recipients. The platform does not store anything permanently and the submitted information and files are deleted as soon as possible with a strict data retention policy. The process is generally improved by suggesting sources and recipients to use

Qubes OS Qubes OS is a security-focused desktop Linux distribution that aims to provide security through isolation. Virtualization is performed by Xen, and user environments can be based on (with official support) Fedora or Debian, or (with communit ...

or Tails operating systems while connecting to the platform.

Implementations

By 2021, GlobaLeaks has been internationalized in 40+ languages and implemented by several thousands projects and initiatives all over the world. The vast range of adopters include independent media, activists, media agencies, corporations, and more. In 2013, ''Free Press Unlimited'' (FPU), a Netherland-based non-profit organization, created Publeaks NL a foundation that counts around 20 of the country's biggest media organizations among its members that uses the platform to perform investigative journalism under a same umbrella project. FPU has replicated this successful model in other countries creating MéxicoLeaks, IndonesiaLeaks, Leaks.ng and Kenekanko in Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mali respectively. MexicoLeaks aimed at revealing information for the public interest in Mexico was awarded in 2016 the FRIDA award. Another project, Africaleaks, was discontinued. AWP, a Belgium-based organization, created Ljost (

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

), Filtrala (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

), EcuadorTransparente (

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

) and PeruLeaks (

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

). One of the most successful GlobaLeaks projects is WildLeaks, the world's first whistleblower initiative dedicated to Wildlife and Forest Crime funded and managed by the

Elephant Action League The Elephant Action League (EAL) is an environmental non-governmental organization founded in 2013 in the United States by Andrea Crosta, Gilda Moratti, and Francesco Rocca. EAL is based in Los Angeles, California. WildLeaks project The EAL, alo ...

(EAL) which reported and investigated various crimes. One of the investigations was highlighted in the award-winning Netflix documentary ''

The Ivory Game ''The Ivory Game'' is a 2016 American documentary film, directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. The film examines the ivory trade, which has become a global concern, pitting governments and environmental preservationalists against poache ...

''. GlobaLeaks also partnered with major anticorruption and human rights NGOs like

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

(Allerta Anticorruzione), OCCRP
OCCRPLeaks
and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

(Amlea). In 2017,

Xnet Xnet (former eXgae) is a non-profit activist platform that develops and promotes alternative models for cultural dissemination and Royalties, royalty management and work in different fields related to digital rights, networked democracy and free ...

, an activist project which has been working on and for networked democracy and digital rights since 2008, launched in the Barcelona City Hall the first public Anti-Corruption Complaint Box using anonymity protection technology like Tor and GlobaLeaks ("Bústia Ètica" in Catalan). With this pioneering project, the Barcelona City Hall is the first municipal government to invite citizens to use tools which enable them to send information in a way that is secure, that guarantees privacy and gives citizens the option to be totally anonymous. In 2018 the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), an administrative watchdog, launched their national online whistleblowing platform using GlobaLeaks and onion services, giving whistleblowers who come forward a secure way to report illegal activity while protecting their identities. Since 2020 the software is now recommended by Transparency International among the available secure, ethical and free solutions that could be used to implement whistleblowing systems for anticorruption purposes.

Funding

The GlobaLeaks project maintains public and transparent documentation of the funds and partners that have supported its research and development.

References

External links