Dutch Privacy Awards 2019 presented!

These Awards offer a podium to companies and governments that see privacy as an opportunity to distinguish themselves positively and make privacy-friendly business and innovation the norm. The winners of the 2019 Dutch Privacy Awards are Startpage.com and Privacy Company i.s.m. SURF. In addition, PublicSpaces received the Encouragement Award.

Winner: Startpage.com

With Private Search 2.0, Startpage.com offers a place where anyone profiling and targeting based on online searches as stifling, can breathe a little more freely again. Startpage.com's promise is that their users can have Google Search queried without fearing that every search will be added to a permanent data shadow at Google. Moreover, Startpage.com's search results can be accessed via an anonymising proxy. Startpage.com thus fulfils a need for anyone who wants to search for information without subsequently being confronted with targeted ads about it. Think of those looking for information about help with a financial problem, a relationship problem or a health problem. And of course to those who prefer to shield themselves 'by default' from foreign data traders (Silicon Valley cum suis) in the first place. The new Startpage.com website thus offers people an important, and also very user-friendly, way to browse websites without having to constantly worry about unwanted profiling and future confrontation with their search behaviour.

Winner: Privacy Designer (Privacy Company and SURF) 

Privacy Designer is a web app by Privacy Company and SURF for SMEs, associations and NGOs that helps them identify privacy risks. The app is co-funded by the SIDN Fund and can be used free of charge.

The jury was very impressed with this solution. It is convenient to use, innovative, and the social impact is great because we know from research that the target group is often not or moderately aware of the privacy risks they face and how to deal with them properly. Moreover, the fact that all data is stored on one's own device and minimal use of personal data is a plus. In short, this entry has the potential to improve privacy for a large group of people in a very accessible but effective way.

Winner: PublicSpaces

All sorts of things happen on the internet that we don't see or notice (search behaviour-based advertising in particular causes us a lot of irritation). Meanwhile, we are becoming increasingly dependent on navigation, cloud storage of our documents and searching for information. It seems that with this, especially a few dominant commercial companies are getting the better of it.

PublicSpaces is a coalition of public broadcasters and cultural institutions that want to turn the internet back into a community of users. They want to work with a number of interested parties to fix the internet by offering a few alternatives in very concrete terms. Especially the inheritance of data across different platforms is a thorn in their side. With open source initiatives, but also the efforts of our previous winner IRMA, they want to contribute to the public value of privacy on the internet. The jury wholeheartedly encourages PublicSpaces' mission!

Nominations

There are four categories for which entries could be nominated:

• Consumer Solutions category (from businesses for consumers)
• category Business solutions (within a company or business-to-business)
• category Public services (from government for citizens)
• incentive award for a pioneering technology or person.

From the various entries, the independent expert jury had determined the following nominees for each category:

Consumer solutions

• Private Search 2.0 (Startpage.com)
• QuestionApp
• Schluss

Business solutions

• Privacy on Schoolbag
• Privacy Designer (Privacy Company and SURF)

Government services

• Passer-by counts (municipality of Nijmegen)
• Project privacy by design (Tax Office)

During the National Privacy Conference all nominees presented their projects to the public through Award pitches. The awards were then presented. Click here for the entire jury report (pdf) with participation criteria and explanation of all nominees and winners.

National Privacy Conference

The National Privacy Conference is an initiative of ECP|Platform for the Information Society and Privacy First. This conference annually brings together Dutch business, government, science and civil society to jointly build a privacy-friendly information society. Mission of the National Privacy Conference and Privacy First is to develop the Netherlands into an international Privacy Guide Country. Privacy by design constitutes the key to this.

Jury Dutch Privacy Awards

The Awards jury consists of independent privacy experts from various sectors:

• Bart van der Sloot, senior researcher, Tilburg University (jury chairman)
• Bas Filippini, founder and chairman Privacy First
• Paul Korremans, data protection & security professional, Comfort Information
• Architects (also board member Privacy First)
• Marie-José Bonthuis, owner IT's Privacy
• Esther Janssen, lawyer Information Law and Fundamental Rights, Brandeis office
• Esther Keymolen, technology philosopher, TILT, Tilburg University
• Matthijs Koot, senior security specialist, Secura BV
• Marc van Lieshout, senior researcher TNO and business director PI.lab
• Wendeline Sjouwerman, privacy specialist local government and healthcare.

To ensure that the election of the Awards is objective, the jury is not allowed to judge an entry from its own organisation.

Privacy First organises the Dutch Privacy Awards with support from Democracy & Media Foundation, in cooperation with ECP. Would you also like to become a partner of the Dutch Privacy Awards? Then please contact on with Privacy First!