September 9, 2018
There are a lot of nonsensical aspects of the proposed rules and the Whistleblower Program operations.
For example, the Whistleblower form still asks a series of confusing questions that a Whistleblower may not have complete information to answer. The Whistleblower form asks would-be-whistleblowers if they are under investigation. However, I do not know and am generally incapable of knowing if I am under investigation and neither would anyone else. It is a general policy of law enforcement (and common sense) to not inform potential suspects that they are under investigation. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to answer certain questions with confidence. Worse, the form does not allow for a Not Available, Other, or Unknown selection - thus forcing Whistleblowers to choose between Yes and No when neither may be applicable answers. This same problem exists if the information is obtained through a source, especially sources in danger that do not reveal any details about themselves. There is no way for me or anyone else to know if a particular source of information is under investigation if they are providing me documents through unidentifiable online conversations or drop-box like folders.
I hope that the SEC can address these and many other additional issues by taking into consideration this comment and other comments. It is critical that the SEC utilize the feedback of real life Whistleblowers because they are the only ones who know the calculous that Whistleblowers go through when deciding on when and how to report misconduct.