Leveraging AI and Compliance Technologies to Streamline Corporate Whistleblower Investigations

According to an article by TransPerfect Legal, the use of AI in corporate whistleblower investigations is revolutionizing compliance by meeting strict deadlines and managing vast amounts of data with advanced analytics and automation.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awareness Pilot Program on August 1, 2024, aiming to encourage whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct and push organizations to improve compliance programs. The DOJ also revised its Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) Policy, requiring companies to investigate whistleblower reports and self-report to the DOJ within 120 days or risk losing VSD protections.

The article notes that this aligns with a global trend of stricter whistleblower regulations, such as the EU Whistleblower Directive, which mandates companies to investigate and respond to whistleblowers within three months. In today’s era of vast and dispersed data, meeting these deadlines is challenging, especially in anti-bribery and anti-extortion investigations involving multilingual documents. Outsourcing investigations may be necessary for some companies, though new technologies can mitigate these challenges.

According to the article, AI and analytics tools, particularly Early Case Assessment (ECA) platforms, can help streamline investigations by isolating relevant documents through features like communication grids, date histograms, and file-type breakdowns. These platforms also use machine learning tools such as concept clustering, “Find More Like This” functionality, and automated language identification to reduce data volumes and enhance investigative efficiency.

Looking ahead, generative AI (GenAI) holds the potential to revolutionize compliance investigations through advanced capabilities like document summarization and automated chronology creation. However, concerns about AI accuracy, ethics, and legal competence highlight the need for careful implementation, education, and thoughtful workflows in the legal and compliance sectors.