The human rights group Privacy International (PI) has announced that it will this year host the first international Big Brother Awards. The Awards, which started in the UK in 1998, were established to 'name and shame' the most relentless government and private sector privacy invaders. They have now become an annual event in fifteen countries. More than thirty national BBA ceremonies have taken place over the past five years.

Privacy International will be staging the awards as an annual event in London on 25 June, on the hundredth birthday of George Orwell, whose novel Nineteen Eighty-Four inspired the name of the award. A panel of more than a hundred experts from thirty countries will decide on the most significant and dangerous global privacy threats.

PI Director, Simon Davies, said his organisation decided to host the international event because of the vast influence of regional and global initiatives and institutions. "The threat posed by these unaccountable and powerful bodies cannot be overstated", he said. "The international influence of the US and the growth of international cooperation between governments is rapidly undermining national protections". Davies says the inaugural global award will take place during a celebration dinner to mark Orwell's 100th. "We are taking this initiative very seriously, and hope to attract many of the world's noted advocates to the event."

"The national awards have been a crucial step in raising public awareness. We feel these important ceremonies must be complemented by an initiative that crosses national boundaries."

Places at the awards are strictly limited. Anyone interested in attending should contact Simon Davies at simon at privacy.org.

The Big Brother Awards
http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/