Information newsletter
Issue 4(16), April 2005

The annual “Big Brother” anti-awards presented in Bulgaria

Access to Information Programme Foundation and Internet Society Bulgaria presented the annual “Big Brother” anti-awards for the violation of the right to privacy and the protection of personal data at an official ceremony in the “The Red House—Center for Culture and Debate” on 13 April 2005.

The “Big Brother” award was founded by Privacy International—a human rights group working for the protection of privacy. “Big Brother” awards are bestowed to those institutions, which directly or by establishing requirements and rules, seriously violate people’s privacy and the right to protection of personal data. The symbol of the anti-award is a military boot smashing a human head.

In Bulgaria, three anti-awards were bestowed in the following categories:

State institution that seriously violates the right of the citizens to personal data protection

The Council of Ministers received the negative prize in this category for the draft amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act. The jury distinguished this institution as the winner because the draft brought by the Vice-premier Plamen Panayotov would set restrictions to the right to freedom of information and would give exclusive power to the so called 'force' institutions to uncontrollably use personal data.

The amendments would:
- Bring to the reposition of the provision that allows disclosure of information about public figures;
- Restrict the collection and distribution of information related to crimes and administrative offences to the control of the respective competent authorities;
- Give permission to employers to collect so-called “sensitive personal data,” i.e. data that show racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical belonging, political bias, as well as data related to the health and sexual life of the citizens.

Членовете на журито представят наградените с анти-награди “Big Brother”

Участниците по време на церемонията по връчване на анти-наградите

Public figure

The General Prosecutor Nikola Filchev was awarded for the overall activity of the Prosecutor’s Office, particularly for a series of actions that pose a threat to the freedom of information and the protection of personal data:
- The indictment against journalists from BBC television for their documentary “Buying the Games.” The movie exhibited the corruption of some of the members of the International Olympic Committee;
- The indictment against the Romanian journalist George Buhnich for his findings about breaches at the border shops at the Danube Bridge. He used intercept devices;
- The order of the Plovdiv Appealing Prosecutor’s Office to collect personal data from all customers of computer internet clubs at the town, as well as the time they used the computer.

Private company
The negative prize was given to the advertising company “SIA Advertising” for misusing the data of 15,000 applicants for participation in the reality show “Big Brother.” The company used the information contained in the questionnaires that the applicants had filled out during the casting process. These data should have been destroyed after the closing of the casting. In the meantime, it turned out that the company used the data for other purposes, an act that violates the Personal Data Protection Act.

The Big Brother awards have been presented for the second time in Bulgaria. More than 50 nominations had been received and reviewed by an awards commitee, composed of:

- Alexander Arabadjiev - Member of Parliament, former Justice of the Constitutional Court;
- Alexander Kashumov - lawyer, AIP;
- Fany Davidova - lawyer, AIP;
- Georgi Lozanov - Head of the Bulgarian Media Coalitiuon, Professor at the Faculty of Journalism, Sofia University;
- Gergana Jouleva - Executive director, AIP;
- Hristo Hristov - Dnevnik newspaper;
- Zoya Dimitrova - Deputy editor of Politics newspaper, Head of the Investigative Journalism Association;

The Big Brother awards ceremony has been organized by Access to Information Programme and Internet Society - Bulgaria.