(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)
On 16 November 2006, Sudhaus cultural centre of Bâle hosted the Swiss Big Brother Awards ceremony of 2006 organised by Archives de l'Etat Fouineur Swiss and the EDRI-member Swiss Internet User Group SIUG.
The jury deciding on the winners included 11 people from various institutions and organizations having acted against control and surveillance. The winners received concrete trophies, a certificate and were mentioned on the "Hall of Shame" list.
The trophy for the category "State" was awarded to the Federal Council of Corpore represented by Christoph Blocher, the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police for the application of internal security measures involving phone tapping, secret search of information systems and installation of secret microphones in apartments without concrete basis just under the cover of preventive investigations.
The winner of the "Business" category was the insurance company Assurance CSS for having given their collaborators large access to their clients' data that included medical information and even HIV test results.
Other candidates were companies such as Microsoft, Cablecom, Swisscom or Crédit Suisse as well as many sports clubs and associations and transport companies who survey their employees and clients.
The "Working Place" category was won by the Dietikon branch of the Media-Markt chain where the employees were continuously under surveillance not only at their working place, but even in the rest rooms.
The fourth award for the category "Activity" was received by Hans Wegmuller, director of SRS (Strategic Information Service), a department created 5 years ago which is actually the military Swiss Intelligence Service, a service that uses ONYX telecom mass surveillance devices.
Besides the negative awards, a positive "Winkelried" award has been lately given during BBA ceremonies. This year, the Swiss awarded this to the Referendum Committee LMIS, made out of groups of sports fans and political groups that will launch a referendum in Spring against the introduction of an "anti-hooligan" law.
Press Release Big Brother Awards 2006 (Only in French - 16.11.2006)
http://www.bigbrotherawards.ch/2006/presse/pressemitteilungen/bba.pres...