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Review of FaceUp: A Modern Whistleblower System for Reporting Everything That Can’t Be Discussed Publicly
FaceUp is a system for reporting illegal, unfair, or unethical behavior that offers a high level of security and anonymity for whistleblowers.
Whistleblowing is the act of reporting illegal, unfair, or unethical internal behavior within a company (such as harming the company’s interests by colleagues, uneven distribution of work by the boss, favoritism towards selected colleagues by the boss, violation of internal regulations, mobbing, bossing, sexual harassment, etc.) or unethical external behavior of the company (such as bribery, theft of internal information, etc.).
FaceUp is a system suitable not only for companies but also for schools. In schools, it primarily helps in the prevention and resolution of bullying.
The authors of the system are a trio of young Czechs: Jan Sláma, David Špunar, and Pavel Ihm, who themselves experienced bullying at school. As 17-year-olds, they created this system, which was immediately adopted by more than 1800 schools upon its launch. Today, FaceUp is used by companies and schools in over 60 different countries.
| Pros (+) | Cons (-) |
|---|---|
| + Absolute anonymity and security (GDPR, end-to-end encryption, ISO 27001, 2FA, and penetration testing). | - Some advanced features may be more complex to set up. |
| + Easy to use and quick to implement. | |
| + Multilingual support and customizable forms. | |
| + Guaranteed compliance with current legislation. |
Functionality of FaceUp
One of the greatest advantages of FaceUp is its intuitive user interface, which allows for easy reporting of issues. Users can send a report anonymously via the website or mobile app with just two clicks. Depending on the pricing package, the FaceUp system offers additional customization options, including setting up custom forms and categories for better management of reported cases.
- Form customization is possible – including company colors and logo.
- Reporters can also attach files to the form.
- The sender can choose whether to submit the report anonymously or not.
- After submitting a report, the reporter can view further communication regarding the report, and may be contacted for additional information, and so on.
- Responsible staff receive notifications about new reports.
- It is possible to set up an automatic response to the form, which includes, for example, contact numbers in case of urgency.
- The system also provides statistics on resolved cases and activity logging.
- If you want to learn more about whistleblowing, check out the glossary on the FaceUp website.
The website is available in 8 languages (English, Czech, French, Hungarian, German, Portuguese, Spanish ES, Spanish LA).
EU Regulation 2019/1937 – Whistleblowing Directive
In 2019, the European Commission adopted a regulation known as the Whistleblowing Directive. Gradually, all EU countries are required to integrate this regulation into their legislation, focusing primarily on the protection of whistleblowers. The transposition of the regulation into national legislations is monitored, for example, on the Whistleblowing Monitor website. The Czech Republic adopted the law in November 2023, and Slovakia in February 2024.
The FaceUp system meets all the requirements of this regulation:
- Provide a whistleblowing system available 24/7.
- Appoint an authorized person who can receive reports from whistleblowers.
- Protect whistleblowers from being identified.
- Ensure the protection of communication with the whistleblower.
- Address reports within the specified time frame.
- Provide a secure archive for reports.
- Make the system accessible not only to employees but also to clients and others.
A complete list of requirements and details on how they are addressed in the FaceUp system can be found on their website.
FaceUp Pricing Packages
FaceUp offers flexible pricing plans depending on the number of employees (fewer than 150 – 3500) or students (fewer than 500 – 1000) and the features available.
- For companies, there are Basic, Standard, and Premium packages. The packages differ in the number of administrators, the number of reporting forms, the ability to categorize reports, and the number of available languages or API availability.
- For schools, there is only one package with all functionalities, and its price depends on the number of students.
Privacy and Security FaceUp
Security and anonymity are the main priorities of FaceUp.
- The system is fully compliant with GDPR.
- Optional endpoint encryption, E2EE encryption – i.e., between the client and server and between the server and administrator.
- The system is designed in accordance with the ISO 27001 security standard, ensuring the highest level of data protection.
- Your data may be hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the EU (Ireland) or the USA (California), or optionally for an additional fee in any other country where AWS servers are available.
- In addition, FaceUp offers end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication, ensuring that all messages are confidential and secure.
FaceUp Customer Support
Support is available via email and online chat, and the platform also provides extensive documentation and guides for users.
Conclusion
FaceUp is an excellent tool for any organization that wants to promote transparency and security in the workplace. Employees can use the tool to address personal and company issues they may be reluctant to name directly to their supervisors – such as mobbing, bossing, sexual harassment, favoritism towards certain colleagues, as well as various unethical handling of company information by colleagues, and more. Naming the problems leads to their resolution, which contributes to improving the atmosphere in the workplace.
It is also a very useful tool for schools. Bullied children often do not find the courage to talk about bullying, but anonymity can help in addressing their issues. The mere availability of the tool at school can have a preventive effect if teachers explain its use.
