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The BigBrotherAward 2018 in the “Administration” Category goes to Cevisio Software und Systeme GmbH & Co. KG in Torgau, Germany, for their software Cevisio Quartiermanagement (QMM), which is used in refugee shelters. This software can be used to register and store movements to the shelter, movements within the shelter, the handing out of meals, medical checks such as X-rays, blood and stool tests, family relationships, religious affiliation and ethnicity and many other details. The collected data facilitate a total control of the refugees.

The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB) receives the BigBrotherAward 2017 in the “Politics” category because imams at DİTİB – acting for the Turkish government and its secret service MİT – are said to have conducted political espionage on DİTİB members and visitors, exposing them to persecution by the Turkish state.

The company BrainCo receives the BBA in the “Education” category for its EEG headbands, which can allegedly measure students’ attention by their brain activity. The attention level is signalled by an LED on the headband and radioed to the teacher’s computer. In the US and China this technology is already used in classrooms. The second awardee is the Leibniz Science Campus Tübingen, which is trialling similar headbands in Germany, combined with eye tracking. That is dressage rather than education.

There were some “lucky losers” that didn’t make it to a full award speech, but which should not be left out completely. We also take a look at the current state of things of an award winner from 2011, Facebook.