In the original bill of the Federal Ministry of Justice led by the SPD, which became public for the first time in April 2018, there was no exception for journalists and whistleblowers. It is expressly included in the EU Directive on which the law is based. In addition, companies in the German version should be allowed to determine for themselves what is and is not a trade secret. So also documents that prove a scandal. Companies could also report journalists to the prosecution if they report on internal documents. In the course of the investigations, editorial offices could have been searched and informants had been revealed. The persons concerned had been suspected of having committed a criminal offense for the duration of the investigation. Media associations and trade unions warned that journalists in particular, for fear of public prosecutorial investigations in the future, could shy away from uncovering maladministration. Especially since they could no longer guarantee their informants' protection. The likelihood that tax scandals, diesel manipulations or the like would come to light in the future, would be significantly reduced, if not nullified.