Before the Big Brother Awards ceremony, which begins at 8:00 PM at Bike Jesus club, the first DDC Assembly will take place, featuring three discussion sessions starting at 6:00 PM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe gradual integration of surveillance technologies into our lives is happening faster than we can respond to it. The voices of ordinary people are often unheard. This year, we want to change that,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said Hynek Troj\u00e1nek from IuRe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThree parallel sessions will take place on \u0160tvanice Island. One, conducted in English, will allow participants to\u00a0share experiences with AI tools<\/strong>. Another will address how to\u00a0balance children\u2019s digital safety with digital freedom<\/strong>. The third,\u00a0\u2018Digital Privacy (Almost) for Everyone,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0will give space to those who want control over their digital footprint but lack the time, knowledge, or resources. Unfortunately, privacy has become a luxury for many.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Outputs from these discussions will be used throughout 2026 as part of the pan-European project Democratic Digital Commons<\/strong>, involving partner organizations from Hungary, Romania, France, and Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organization IuRe will \u201caward\u201d the greatest privacy intruders at this year\u2019s Big Brother Awards ceremony, taking place on Tuesday, April 14, on \u0160tvanice Island in Prague.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Big Brother Awards were first presented on October 25, 2005, at Divadlo Na z\u00e1bradl\u00ed. Among the early recipients was then Police President Ji\u0159\u00ed Kol\u00e1\u0159, who won in the \u201cBig Brother Statement\u201d category for saying: \u201cI conduct conversations and anyone can listen to them, I don’t mind. If a person is sure they have done nothing wrong, it shouldn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2005, both the scale and the ways in which data-collecting digital technologies permeate everyday life have changed significantly. However, the core principle of the Big Brother Awards remains the same: highlighting cases where, under the guise of utility or security, more sensitive data is collected than necessary, infringing on one of the fundamental human rights\u2014the right to privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly 50 companies, public institutions, and individuals have been nominated in the 21st edition of the awards, recognizing \u201cBig Brothers\u201d of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to IuRe Executive Director Jan Vobo\u0159il, this year\u2019s nominations reveal a noticeable trend. \u201cFor 2025, we are seeing a high number of nominations involving American companies and authorities. Nominees include Palantir<\/strong>, Tesla<\/strong>, and Meta<\/strong>, as well as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE<\/strong>), which has been collecting information on protesters. There are also concerns about efforts to review up to five years of social media history for travelers entering the U.S. The United States dominated the awards mainly in the early years, so this marks something of a comeback.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Europe, however, is not performing much better. \u201cHungary has been nominated for deploying facial recognition cameras<\/strong> against Pride participants, Poland for proposing mandatory SIM card registration<\/strong>, and Austria for plans to break encrypted communications<\/strong>. Meanwhile, Czech ministries have proposed that internet providers log the websites people visit<\/strong>,\u201d<\/em> Vobo\u0159il added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n