WASHINGTON, D.C. | September 1, 2022 — On August 9, Fast Company recognized Gretchen Peters as one of the Most Creative People in Business. Peters and the Alliance to Counter Crime Online (“ACCO”), were recognized for their relentless work to “to combat various different areas of organized crime—gun sales, illegal drugs, bogus pharmacies, human trafficking, timber trading, the sexual exploitation of minors, and more.”
In Fast Company’s announcement, ACCO’s complaints to the SEC, filed with NWC were noted as efforts to “tamp down on the vast criminal networks of wildlife traders that were facilitating the extinction of elephants and rhinos.” Noting that “The SEC complaint didn’t force Facebook to fix its wildlife problem, but it did attract the attention of nonprofits and academics around the world.” Further, in the Fast Company article, Peters says “The argument we make is that selling OxyContin tablets on Snapchat or selling a kid for sex on Facebook’s marketplace is not free expression. . . It’s a crime.”
National Whistleblower Center (“NWC”) celebrates this announcement and commends the Fast Company for recognizing Gretchen Peters and the global impact her, and ACCO’s, work has accomplished. The complaints filed with NWC was immensely impactful and precedes other tech industry whistleblower disclosures implementing the innovative legal strategies developed to advance ACCO’s and other tech industry whistleblowers mission for greater accountability.
Much is yet to be done. “At a time when the laws governing cyberspace are badly outdated, the SEC is well-positioned to reign in out of control tech companies. We call on Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to direct his agency to look into the filings that we and other groups have delivered.” States Peters about efforts that should be taken by the SEC.
National Whistleblower Center agrees with and fully supports Peters, ACCO, and celebrates their ongoing efforts to hold the tech industry accountable for facilitating crimes.
For more information, contact Siri Nelson at info@whistleblowers.org.
