John Tye (whistleblower) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Tye
Personal details
Born	John Napier Tye 1975/1976 (age 48–49) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Duke University (BS) Lincoln College, Oxford (BA) Yale University (JD)

John Tye (born around 1976) is known for being a whistleblower. This means he was a government official who spoke out in 2014 about certain electronic spying practices by the U.S. government. These practices were happening under a rule called Executive Order 12333.

Later, John Tye helped start a group called Whistleblower Aid. This organization helps other whistleblowers share their concerns without getting into legal trouble.

About John Tye

John Tye grew up near Boston. He went to Duke University and created his own major, focusing on adaptive and intelligent systems. He once said that he wanted to "do things that have more of an impact on real people."

After Duke, Tye studied at Lincoln College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He learned about philosophy, politics, and economics. He also researched hate groups for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

He then earned a law degree from Yale Law. After graduating in 2006, he moved to New Orleans. There, he worked to help low-income families find affordable housing.

Working for the Government

In 2011, John Tye joined the U.S. State Department. He worked there until 2014. His job was to promote Internet freedom around the world. He often traveled to other countries to talk about keeping the internet open and free from government spying. In this role, he had access to very important and secret government information.

After leaving the State Department, Tye worked for Avaaz. This is a global group that works for social and political change.

Why John Tye Spoke Out

Concerns About Spying

In 2013 and 2014, Tye learned about how the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting information. This was happening under Executive Order 12333. This order was signed by President Ronald Reagan and later changed by President George W. Bush. Tye was helping the State Department understand the information that another whistleblower, Edward Snowden, had shared.

Tye became worried that the government's spying and data collection under this order might not follow the rules. He thought it might even go against the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Trying to Fix Things Internally

Before he left the State Department in April 2014, Tye tried to share his concerns within the government. He filed a complaint with the department's inspector general. An inspector general is like an internal watchdog for a government agency.

He also met with staff from special intelligence committees in the U.S. House and Senate. He even told the NSA's inspector general about his worries. The House committee told him they had "reviewed your allegations."

Sharing Information Publicly

On July 18, 2014, The Washington Post published an article written by John Tye. In it, he explained his concerns about U.S. electronic spying. He said that people should be more worried about data collection under Executive Order 12333 than other laws.

Tye explained that this order allows the government to collect both metadata (like who you called or emailed) and the actual content of communications. This can happen if the communication goes through servers outside the U.S. He argued that many messages between Americans might travel or be stored outside the U.S. This could make them open to collection.

He also pointed out that Executive Order 12333 is a presidential order, not a law passed by Congress. This means it had not been reviewed by Congress or the courts. Collecting information under this order does not need a warrant from a judge.

Tye spoke at a public meeting of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. This group advises the president on privacy and civil liberties. He also gave a talk about his experience at a TEDx conference.

John Tye has always said he has not, and will not, share any secret government information. He even had his article approved by the State Department and NSA before it was published.

What Others Thought

After Tye's article came out, government officials and legal experts reacted. Alexander Joel, a privacy officer for the Director of National Intelligence, said that Americans cannot be directly targeted under the order. He also said that rules limit how long data can be kept. Tye replied that these arguments didn't address his main concerns about how much data was being collected.

Ben Wizner, a lawyer for Edward Snowden, praised Tye's actions. He said it was good that Tye found a way to speak out without sharing secret information. Legal experts debated whether Tye's actions would lead to changes in the government's spying rules.

Whistleblower Aid

In September 2017, John Tye and lawyer Mark Zaid started Whistleblower Aid. This group offers free legal help to whistleblowers. They want to help people report wrongdoing safely.

Whistleblower Aid is very clear that it is different from WikiLeaks. They state, "No one should ever send classified information to Whistleblower Aid." They do not help clients leak secret information. Instead, they guide whistleblowers to legal ways to expose problems without breaking the law.

The group aims to help people speak up without ruining their careers or facing legal problems. They get money from donations to cover their costs. In 2021, Whistleblower Aid helped Frances Haugen. She was a whistleblower who spoke out about Facebook.

See also

• Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)