Ars Electronica Center
Deep Space LIVE: Malte Spitz Asks “What are you doing with my data?”
press release “Deep Space LIVE: Malte Spitz Asks “What are you doing with my data?” / PDF
(Linz, June 15, 2015) German politician Malte Spitz will be the star of the next Deep Space LIVE on Thursday, June 18th at 8 PM. Malte Spitz made a name for himself worldwide in 2011 when he published on ZEIT Online the data about his telecommunications activity that his service provider was storing. At the Ars Electronica Center, he’ll discuss ongoing data gathering and storage by companies, government agencies, the police, health insurance providers and airlines, as well as video surveillance in public places.
The Malte Spitz Case
According to the judicial conciliation settlement in 2011 of a lawsuit Malte Spitz had filed, Deutsche Telekom, his telecommunications provider, had to release all the data it had collected about him. He subsequently received a CD containing 35,830 lines of raw data that was visualized with the help of ZEIT Online and the firm Open Data City to graphically represent six months in the life of Malte Spitz. Visitors to the “Out of Control – What the Internet Knows about You” exhibition in the Ars Electronica Center as well as the http://www.zeit.de/datenschutz/malte-spitz-vorratsdaten website can access a map of Germany that shows in minute detail where Malte Spitz was, how much time he spent there and when he called someone or sent an SMS. Ever since, he’s been publishing books and giving speeches to make the general public aware that there exist such data about every citizen and to appeal to their sense of self-determination. The so-called case of Malte Spitz got major media coverage worldwide including reportage in the New York Times, Wired, Gizmodo, Telegraph, Financial Times and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
About Malte Spitz
German politician Malte Spitz was born in 1984. His political activities focus on civil rights and policymaking having to do with media and the internet. He’s been a member of the advisory council of Germany’s Green Party since 2013; prior to that, he was a member of its national executive committee. For the publication of his data, he was honored with a Grimme Online Award. Malte Spitz lives with his wife and child in Berlin.
Deep Space LIVE
The Ars Electronica Center is now hosting a Deep Space LIVE event every Thursday (except holidays) at 8 PM. Each presentation will feature ultra-high-definition imagery in 16×9-meter format and will be accompanied by expert commentary, entertaining stand-up repartee, and musical improvisation. Whether great works from the history of art, space travel, journeys of discovery in the Nanoworld, or a live concert is what you’ve come to behold, Deep Space LIVE stands for enlightening entertainment amidst breathtaking worlds of imagery. Admission is €2. Holders of a valid Museum ticket are admitted free of charge.
Photo:
Malte Spitz / www.gruene.de / Printversion / Album
