The organization IuRe will “award” the greatest privacy intruders at this year’s Big Brother Awards ceremony, taking place on Tuesday, April 14, on Štvanice Island in Prague. The ceremony will be preceded by three public discussions open to all.

The Big Brother Awards were first presented on October 25, 2005, at Divadlo Na zábradlí. Among the early recipients was then Police President Jiří Kolář, who won in the “Big Brother Statement” category for saying: “I conduct conversations and anyone can listen to them, I don't mind. If a person is sure they have done nothing wrong, it shouldn’t matter.”

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—the right to privacy.

“The satirical nature of the ceremony helps us draw attention to legally and technologically complex issues,” said Helena Svatošová, a lawyer at IuRe and founder of the awards. “In the past, the awards have contributed to the cancellation of controversial sKarta cards, the destruction of stored newborn blood samples, and the termination of the HomeCredit surveillance app project. A few years ago, the Czech company Avast was also in our spotlight and was later fined CZK 350 million by the Czech Data Protection Authority for selling customer data to Google and Coca-Cola.”

Nearly 50 companies, public institutions, and individuals have been nominated in the 21st edition of the awards, recognizing “Big Brothers” of 2025.

A 2025 Comeback in Surveillance: The USA

According to IuRe Executive Director Jan Vobořil, this year’s nominations reveal a noticeable trend. “For 2025, we are seeing a high number of nominations involving American companies and authorities. Nominees include Palantir, Tesla, and Meta, as well as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 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.”

Europe, however, is not performing much better. “Hungary has been nominated for deploying facial recognition cameras against Pride participants, Poland for proposing mandatory SIM card registration, and Austria for plans to break encrypted communications. Meanwhile, Czech ministries have proposed that internet providers log the websites people visit,” Vobořil added.

Winners in the categories of Corporate Snooper, Official Snooper, Long-Term Snooper, and Big Brother Statement will be selected by a nine-member jury composed of media professionals and experts in law and cybersecurity. The jury will also grant one positive recognition: the Privacy Protection Award.

Public Debates on Privacy, AI, and Smartphones

In addition to the awards ceremony, which begins at 8:00 PM at Bike Jesus club, the event will feature three discussion sessions starting at 6:00 PM.

“The 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,” said Hynek Trojánek from IuRe. “Three parallel sessions will take place on Štvanice Island. One, conducted in English, will allow participants to share experiences with AI tools. Another will address how to balance children’s digital safety with digital freedom. The third, ‘Digital Privacy (Almost) for Everyone,’ will 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.”

Outputs from these discussions will be used throughout 2026 as part of the pan-European project Democratic Digital Commons, involving partner organizations from Hungary, Romania, France, and Portugal.

For the first time, the ceremony will be English friendly. Admission to both the ceremony and the discussion sessions is free. Participants can register their interest here.