Whistleblowers: The New Front Line in AI and Privacy Enforcement

In September 2026, a whistleblower — a researcher who had spent years at two of the world's leading AI companies — resigned and posted a thread that became, for the privacy and AI community, a shot heard around the world. The post reached hundreds of millions of impressions within days, and landed in newsrooms, congressional offices and regulatory agencies around the globe. It was a vivid reminder that whistleblowers, insiders with technical knowledge and the courage to speak, have become one of the most powerful forces in technology enforcement.

This panel brings together seasoned practitioners in the whistleblower space who will offer a 360-degree view of this emerging frontier in enforcement. Panelists will examine the historic role of whistleblowers, explore emerging potential frameworks such as California’s proposed whistleblower law, and examine what expanded whistleblower protections could mean for privacy, AI and security enforcement, and corporate governance strategies. The nuts and bolts of whistleblower actions will be explained, as will strategies for bringing, managing and responding to whistleblower complaints.

What you will learn:

• The role of whistleblowers in the technology sector and the rationale for expanding their use in privacy and AI enforcement.
• The anatomy of whistleblower action, including how the government evaluates claims and how these actions differ from traditional litigation.
• Practical insights about strategies for bringing and responding to whistleblower claims and how to avoid common missteps.