The social media giant won the "Big Brother" Award in
Belgium on Thursday, beating out three other contestants. The award is named
after the dystopian government surveillance in George Orwell's 1984, and given
to the "biggest privacy-offender of the year," according to its
organizers.
Facebook, nominated by EDRi, an
international non-profit organization, won after being criticized for its
default privacy settings in a unanimous decision. The social network did not
respond to requests for comment.
"Facebook has access to a wide
range of personal data, and it tracks your movements across the web, whether
you are logged in or not," EDRi said. "And the devil is in the
default: To opt out, you are expected to navigate Facebook's complex web of
settings."
Facebook beat out three other
candidates for the anti-privacy award, including Belgium's data retention law,
paper-less cash and the government's lack of transparency for criminal
investigations.
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://winnerhands.blogspot.com/2016/10/facebook-wins-big-brother-award-in.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggIeNkGDaDI5IGAuXOacLfePa2Su8z77TJ2E90BGtZ2v8hDPRV2doOoq_68NulnFANPcDBetqu9WJg5-OcCIN4rArXimTwelxXEZWL4KKe9Txkmw3Q-7U01ZgrLgLsRo_Abo6dFdWlPcw/s72-c/BBA-adler.gif&description= The social media giant won the "Big Brother" Award  in Belgium on Thursday, beating out three other contestants. The award is ...){kind=link}