Let's be honest: have you ever studied the general terms and conditions of Facebook, Google & Co. If not, you're in good company: in a survey by Statista, only seven percent said they always read the long, complicated guidelines. Hardly anyone knows the extent to which internet companies sell information about our habits and preferences to third parties at home and abroad. It is clear that they do this. That's how they make a living.

One person who knows all about it is Rena Tangens. Her association Digitalcourage e. V. presents the "Big Brother Awards" once a year - a negative prize for people and organizations that damage people's privacy in a particular way. The expert's most important tip: "Always be critical and discreet, never publish more private information than necessary."

What are the dangers of using social media?

The biggest problem is the lack of data sovereignty. We have no influence over what companies do with information about us. This information has been collected on a large scale for years; networks and search engines have access to everything. Every click, every search, every post is saved and analyzed - even photos that we have long since deleted.

Should we be aware of data protection regulations on the Internet?

That's certainly not wrong - but it doesn't protect you from anything, because companies often hide behind legalese. For example, if it says that the company "generally" does not pass on data to "unauthorized third parties", "generally" can mean that there are exceptions and that data is still passed on to "authorized third parties".

What do Facebook and co. do with our data?

They create a user profile of us that is as accurate as possible and sell it to companies so that they can use targeted advertising. However, their influence goes far beyond advertising. Based on our data, companies draw conclusions about us that can have serious consequences. For example, if someone states on Facebook that they prefer to listen to hip-hop, their score drops. This means that companies generally classify a user who listens to hip-hop as less solvent. This means that I may not be able to get a favorable loan or be prohibited from paying on account when making an online purchase because I listen to the wrong music. Also important: as soon as you allow an app to synchronize your contacts, the operator can also access the names and email addresses of friends who are not even logged into the network. To protect friends, you should never allow access to your address book.

What could be in store for us in the future?

Our smartphones are already a constant surveillance device. It hears what we say, knows where we are and how we move - and tattles on us to anyone who pays the app developers to do so. Let's take the example of fitness apps: Health insurance companies may one day only give cheap rates to people who are monitored and have good scores. This fuels injustice - and lack of freedom. At some point, we might have to justify going to bed later than usual. After all, that's unhealthy...