German BigBrotherAwards 2021 | Hacker News Reader

German BigBrotherAwards 2021

bigbrotherawards.de

54 pointsrapnie18 comments

https://bigbrotherawards.de/en/2021/education-proctorio this one is really evil.

> Use of the Proctorio software also requires the Google Chrome browser to be installed on the students’ computers.

Why am I not surprised. The only major browser that doesn’t block any trackers by default is the perfect fit for this type of software.

Similar to separate work laptop, I think separate study laptop is the solution. Otherwise just don't attend uni.

And it doesn't really work? The student could easily keep a second device which is not monitored nearby and out of sight of the camera. For the webcam based "room-scan" just hold it your other hand behind the laptop.

And they forgot to include authoritarian Angela Merkel, the German government and the mass media mouthpieces for the German state in the awards.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/24/germanys-new-surveillanc...

Please, let's keep it on a factual level. I really wish that you'll never have to live in an actual authoritarian regime...

A lot of this seems over-the-top, like the criticism of DoctoLib. Attacking that will just mean the alternative is calling the doctors' reception manually and hoping to get through, and then giving up all medical confidentiality to the receptionist instead...

It seems like a lot of "privacy concerns" just end up being Luddite rubbish. The expansion of CCTV is a great thing for society for example, as anyone who's been the victim of burglary or mugging will tell you (I assume the well-off authors of these awards live in pseudo-gated communities where this isn't a concern).

It's also telling that two of the items are direct consequences of the lockdowns. Hopefully people will begin to see them for what they are.

In the 20th century, Germany has twice experienced what it can mean to your life when your privacy is constantly undermined. Of course, this does not mean that every time data about you is collected it automatically and immediately means harm to you. But it raises the potential for it.

They had much bigger issues than just data sharing though. It's not like things would have been fine if only your medical appointments were never stored on AWS.

And still haven't learned. There are a lot of companies which collect user data in Germany besides Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.

> I assume the well-off authors of these awards live in pseudo-gated communities

Bold assumption, what is it based on?

> Attacking that will just mean the alternative is calling the doctors' reception manually and hoping to get through, and then giving up all medical confidentiality to the receptionist instead...

Talking to a receptionist of a doctor‘s office (that are bound by confidentiality) is a completely different thing than one huge private company collecting data from all doctor‘s offices

> I assume the well-off authors of these awards live in pseudo-gated communities where this isn't a concern

Indeed Germany is pretty safe.

My impression is that this is just one guy's website, not backed by an actual group (whatever that would be...). Am I right?

It is backed by an association (for a lack of a better word, the e.v. part) and the awards usually get some press in Germany, at least in the tech/computer/... realm.

Not at all. This is backed by https://digitalcourage.de/, which is a pretty well-established association

Alright, thanks very much. I guess I was deceived by the not quite professional grasp of English, and repeated use of "I" in some of the justifications.

No mention of coerced vaccination and the associated passports that are being forced on much of the world?

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