In October of 2006 the world changed with the birth of the news site: Wikileaks. Since then, thousands of documents have been released to the public; opening our eyes to the corruption of our leaders. The world needs more leak sites covering all aspects of life. Today I would like to talk about a new site out that’s called StateLeaks, a website dedicated to uncovering State and Local issues within the United States.

I believe in a free and open Internet, I also believe that the things we love about the Internet should be incorporated into our real life as well. The fact is the world needs more sites like wikileaks to ensure that transparency is found in all parts of society. Site’s all over the world have been taking up the call to arms and have launched their own transparency websites:

• OpenLeaks – A whistleblower site created to provide a direct alternative to wikileaks.
• TradeLeaks – This site had (and has) potential of being a great site, but should have a better moderator system.
• BalkanLeaks – This site is available for the people in the Balkans in an attempt to stop the secrecy.
• IndoLeaks – The site for whistleblowers in Indonesia and the site has a very good reputation.
• MapleLeaks – Canadian’s safe haven for whistle blowers.
• QuebecLeaks – An even more specific leak website for people of Quebec, Canada (link to English site)
• UniLeaks – Provides insight and a place to leak information on Universities in Australia.

There are claims about how the amount of sites that are created, distract from Wikileaks and also puts the reputation of Wikileaks in danger if any of these sites do not hold themselves to the same standard as Wikileaks. No one site can accept and distribute all leaks from every type of source, so it is important that we create localised and niche sites to encourage people to step forward about wrong doings that they know of.

Protecting the Internet and protecting true democracy around the world is the only thing that is important today. The pride of a single man, organisation, or government should no longer be a reason for people to stand quietly and watch as evil happens around them. It is time people stand up for what is right and fight for a world where everyone is held to the same standards.

StateLeaks provides a method for people who live in the United States who would like to report on the corruption of their local agencies in a way that is safe for themselves, both socially and legally. We are constantly working on ways to improve our services but after nearly a year of planning and development we are confident that we can provide the level of security to our users that they need.

It’s your turn now, each of you (who have the skills necessary to protect your sources) should create a website for your local area or organisation to help end the corruption. Wikileaks is no longer simply a website, we are a movement.