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Logo des „Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung“. Rechts daneben ein Werbeplakat der Bundeswehr mit der Aufschrift: „Deutschlands Freiheit wird auch im Cyberraum verteidigt.“ Freiheit wurde händisch mit rot durchgestrichen und Militarisierung dazu geschrieben.
Authorities & Administration (2017)

German Federal Military and Federal Minister of Defence, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen

The German Federal Military (“Bundeswehr”) and the Federal Minister of Defence receive the 2017 Big Brother Award in the category Authorities and Administration for the military’s massive digital arms build-up including the new “Commando Cyberspace and Information Space” (“Kommando Cyber- und Informationsraum”, KdoCIR). This digital combat unit with a planned strength of 14,000 personnel is to prepare the German military for cyber warfare – including military cyber attacks on other countries’ IT systems and critical infrastructure. This militarisation of the Internet means the Federal Republic will take part in the global cyber arms race – without parliamentary control, without democratic oversight and without legal basis.

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Grafik: Eine Person sitzt an einem Schreibtisch. Auf dem Schreibtisch stehen mehrere Monitore. Dahinter die Logos der CDU und B'90/DieGrünen.
Politics (2018)

Parliamentary groups of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Greens in Hesse

The parliamentary groups for the Christian-Democratic and the Green parties in the state parliament of Hesse receive the BigBrotherAward 2018 in the Politics category for their plans for a new domestic intelligence law. The draft by the “black-green coalition” contains an accumulation of grave surveillance powers that facilitate severe interferences with fundamental rights: So-called state trojans are to be used to secretly infect and investigate “suspect” computers, employees of projects to further democratic society are to be screened by intelligence agencies and, in a legal novelty, criminal undercover agents are to be exempted from persecution. All in all, this is a severe attack on democracy, on the rule of law, and on fundamental rights.

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Ein alter Fernseher mit weißem Rauschen.

Review

Federal Criminal Police Office: illegal offenders databases Dr. Rolf Gössner In 2002 we gave a BigBrotherAward to the Federal Criminal Police Office ( Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) because it had established a several “preventive” databases. These contravene the registered persons’ right to informational self-determination. At issue were the “Violent Offenders” databases “Left” (LIMO), “Right” (REMO), “Crimes against Foreigners” (AUMO) and “Sports” (“hooligan database”). In late 2008, the higher administrative court of the federal state of Lower Saxony found that the “Violent Offenders Sports”…
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Zustellungsbenachrichtigung von DHL. Allerdings mit Pesthörnchen statt Posthörnchen und dem Text "Eine persönliche Zustellung was am 28.04. um 18:00 h leider nicht möglich. An DHL 1 BigBrotherAward, Abholung ab Montag 11:00 Uhr bei Digitalcourage e.V.

Deutsche Post DHL Group

Deutsche Post DHL Group receives the BigBrotherAward 2023 in the Consumer Protection category for their practices of digital coercion. Through changes in the operation of DHL’s parcel locker stations, they want to force customers to use a smartphone and the company’s Post & DHL App. The Post & DHL App sends data to tracking companies without asking for consent. This case of digital coercion particularly deserves a rebuke because this is a former state enterprise that excludes citizens from an important basic service.

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Das Bitkom-Logo vor dem Hintergrund einer Feier, im Fokus ein gehobenes Glas. Darunter der text: „Penetrante Lobby gegen Datenschutz“.
Economy (2017)

IT business association Bitkom

The German IT business association Bitkom receives the BigBrotherAward 2017 in the “Business” category for their uncritical promotion of big data, for obtrusively lobbying against data protection, and for being a front organisation for big US companies, who call the shots within Bitkom.

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Collage: Zwei Spitzel mit Hut auf der Linken Seite. Rechts daneben eine Art Sticker vom „Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz“. Im Hintergrund eine Straße.
Lifetime Achievement (2016)

The Interior Secret Service, “Protection of the Constitution”

The interior secret service known as “Protection of the Constitution” receives a Lifetime BigBrotherAward just as it reaches the official retirement age, for 65 years of violating civil and privacy rights. The “Protection of the Constitution” is recognised in particular for monitoring and stigmatising groups and individuals that are critical of the state and society, for its uncontrollable system of informers, for hopeless entanglement with murderous neo-Nazi circles and for covering up illegal practices. Despite its history of scandals, the “Protection of the Constitution” offices are not being reigned in, but instead upgraded and equipped with further intelligence capabilities.

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Das Generali-Logo auf hellblauem Hintergrund mit Binärcode.
Consumer Protection (2016)

Generali insurance

The Generali insurance company is awarded the BigBrotherAward 2016 in the category Consumer Protection because it promises advantages to the insured if they use an app to transfer their fitness data and shopping behaviour to the insurance company, which in turn tranfers the data to a credit-point system in South Africa. This will lead to loss of solidarity and runs counter to the basic principle of our social system.

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Eine Portraitaufnahme von Alexander Dobrindt. Im Hintergrund (unscharf), ganze viele Köpfe von Dobrindt als Muster angeordnet. Unten der Text: „We will watch you“.

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt

The BigBrotherAward 2025 in the category Authorities and Administration goes to the Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt for his so-called Security Package, which envisions wide-ranging use of face-search engines. Dobrindt’s ministry wants to cooperate with privacy-incompatible suppliers such as Clearview AI and PimEyes, who use all pictures that can be found online – whether they were published with permission or not. The Interior minister’s draft law seeks to legitimise these illegal snooping practices. Also, Dobrindt wants to introduce the highly controversial Palantir software by anti-democrat Peter Thiel at the federal government level.

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Portraitaufnahme von Peer Steinbrück.
Politics (2007)

Peer Steinbrück

The BigBrotherAward in the “Politics” category goes to the Federal Minister of Finance, Mr Peer Steinbrück, for introducing a life-long Tax ID number for all taxable persons, which bears an eerie resemblance to the unconstitutional concept of a personal code number.

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Otto Schily bei einer Wahlkampfkundgebung der SPD in München. Er hebt eine Hand hoch während er am Rednerpult steht.
Lifetime Achievement (2005)

Otto Schily

Mr Otto Schily, former Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany earns a BigBrotherAward for the current undemocratic introduction of the biometric passport, the technology of which is still immature and unsafe and which causes the whole population to be subjected to a police identification procedure normally applied to criminals. Mr Schily will receive the BigBrotherAward also for his Lifetime Achievement, namely for the extension of the German and European surveillance system, to the severe cost of civic and freedom rights, and for his persistent efforts at eroding data protection under the guises of public security and fight against terror.

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 Logo von ChatGPT mit dem HAL-9000-Auge in der Mitte.

Microsoft

The Big Brother Award 2023 in the category "Lifetime Achievement" goes to Microsoft, because with their market dominance, the company forces people, companies and government agencies to continually transmit data, and therefore to allow themselves to be spied upon, as a regular part of their digital activities. With this award, Microsoft has been honoured in the Lifetime category twice (the first time was in 2002).

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„Röntgenaufnahme“ eines Smartphones. Darüber der Text: „Jetzt ‚fest integriert‘: Google Gemini“ mit einem Pfeil auf ein Bauteil des Smartphones.

Google

The BigBrotherAward in the Technology category goes to Google for the AI assistant Gemini, which is now clandestinely, but compulsorily installed on Android smartphones. Gemini has access to wide-ranging usage and communication data, which are used to train Google’s AI and also reviewed by human examiners. This could include full chat histories – without consent from communication partners. To deactivate this AI assistant, users have to make complex changes in several menus.

About BigBrotherAwards

In a compelling, entertaining and accessible format, we present these negative awards to companies, organisations, and politicians. The BigBrotherAwards highlight privacy and data protection offenders in business and politics, or as the French paper Le Monde once put it, they are the “Oscars for data leeches”.

Organised by (among others):

BigBrother Awards International (Logo)

BigBrotherAwards International

The BigBrotherAwards are an international project: Questionable practices have been decorated with these awards in 19 countries so far.