The Big Brother Award

Once a year, the Bielefeld-based association Digitalcourage presents the "Big Brother Award". This year's winners include DHL and Zoom - two providers that many people deal with in their everyday lives. The jury of the "Big Brother Award", which was presented in various categories in Bielefeld this evening, is an anti-award: those who receive the prize are generally not happy about it.

The award ceremony

The Big Brother Award draws attention to abuses and highlights threatening developments: Where are there new data collections that could be misused. The jury also deplores the increasing dismantling of actual post offices, which are being replaced by packing stations.

"DHL" as a data offender

In the jury's view, one specific case is the DHL Packstation. There is now a "digital compulsion" for DHL customers, explains Rena Tanges from the Digitalcourage association. Anyone who orders a parcel and is not found at home by the courier will increasingly find that the shipment is deposited in a "Packstation". But the new generation of Packstations work differently. There is no longer a display where a PIN can be entered. Instead, people are expected to have a smartphone - and install the "Post/DHL" app. This is the only way to open the right door at the latest generation of packing stations. According to the jury, people are "forced" to have a smartphone - and to use an app. The app also collects data and supplies various tracking companies in the USA with data.

"Zoom" as a data offender

Another prominent award winner is the video conferencing system "Zoom" from the US company of the same name. Here, "padeluun", one of the founders and directors of the Big Brother Award, goes into a rage: "Even where Zoom claims that the servers are located in Germany, data is transferred to the USA - in other words: Zoom is lying at this point." What is meant is that when using the widely used video conferencing system, data flows to the USA and, it is feared, could be intercepted by US intelligence services. This is not about the content of the video calls, which are transmitted in encrypted form, but about the social contacts: Who is talking to whom and when - this data undoubtedly accumulates, as Zoom requires registration and personal data is therefore available.

The alternatives

"padeluun" criticizes how carelessly even ministries and organizations work with Zoom. Yet there are more data protection-friendly alternatives such as "Jitsi" or "BigBlueButton". Unlike Zoom, Teams or Skype, these systems are not in the hands of a corporation and some are even independent.

Microsoft and the transfer of data to the USA

Microsoft was also honored with the Big Brother Award in the "Lifetime Achievement" category. The company has been ensuring that data from EU citizens flows to the USA for years. This is because most of Microsoft's online services require registration and login. And even if data is stored on EU servers, US companies often have to hand it over under court order. This is true - but Microsoft is also legally defending itself against such requests.

The Big Brother Award as a finger in the wound

The argumentation of the Big Brother Award is very strict and is caught between digitalization and consumer protection. But in any case, the Big Brother Award puts a finger in the wound and thus initiates important debates and raises awareness for the careful handling of personal data. It is important that such awards are presented to make companies and organizations aware of their responsibility in handling data and to raise society's awareness of data protection issues.