The underlying idea was straightforward: Exposing wrongdoing is a public obligation, and people who come forward in the public interest should be protected.
The modern U.S. approach has moved beyond simply protecting those who come forward. It has embraced financial reward as a central feature of enforcement, with some whistleblowers taking home hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
This is where the concern begins. These incentives do not just encourage conduct; they reshape institutions. What began as a tool for last-resort truth-telling has turned into a formal market in enforcement leads. […]
Another issue is that once the reward becomes large enough, the promise of a payout may change the kind of information agencies receive. A person who stands to recover millions has an obvious incentive to emphasize facts that increase the claim’s value, which can create major credibility problems.
Source: New whistleblower rules encourage a nation of paid informants