Big tech platforms to protect women online

Big tech platforms to protect women online

Author: BBC World Service July 6, 2021 Duration: 45:46

Four of the world’s biggest tech platforms are adopting a new set of commitments to tackle online abuse and improve women’s safety online. This is the first time there has been cross-industry collaboration on ways companies can address the issue. Web Foundation Senior Policy manager Azmina Dhrodia is on the show to explain how, while Azerbaijani journalist Arzu Geybulla tells us about some of the abuse she has received online.

Wireless pacemaker that dissolves in the body A wireless pacemaker that can dissolve in the body has been created for patients who need only temporary help to regulate their heartbeat. Pacemakers can be used for short periods, especially after open heart surgery, but are associated with quite a few issues such as infection from leads or the dislodging of the power supply and damaging heart tissue on removal. Professor John Rogers from Northwestern University, Illinois in the US, has developed a battery-free pacemaker that can be implanted directly onto the surface of the heart and it can then be absorbed by the body when no longer needed. He’s on the programme to discuss the tech that made the invention possible.

Reducing car pollution from tyres Future car pollution will mainly come from tyres, not the exhaust. Even now tyre and road wear pollution is one of the leading causes of microplastics in the air. Our reporter Jason Hosken has been investigating how technology can be used to reduce the harmful impacts of tiny tyre particles, that are released from vehicles as they drive along.

(Image: Internet troll sending comment to picture on imaginary social media website with smartphone Credit: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images)

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.

Studio Manager: John Boland Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz


Every week, the team at Digital Planet from the BBC World Service takes you beyond the headlines to explore how technology is reshaping lives, cultures, and economies across the globe. This isn't just a rundown of gadget releases or corporate earnings; it's a grounded conversation about the real-world impact of our digital choices. You'll hear from engineers in Nairobi, policymakers in Brussels, and coders in São Paulo, offering a genuinely international perspective that challenges the usual Silicon Valley narrative. Each episode digs into the human stories behind the innovations, examining both the promise and the peril of our connected age. We tackle questions about ethics, accessibility, and the unintended consequences of progress, making sense of complex issues with clear, thoughtful reporting. Tune in for a nuanced and curious exploration of our technological moment, where the focus is always on the people designing, using, and living with these tools every day. This podcast provides the context you need to understand not just what's new, but what it actually means.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Digital Planet
Podcast Episodes
Happy birthday Digital Planet! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:25
In this special 21st birthday show we’re bringing our Digital Planet community together for the first time since 2019. The team has been asking World Service listeners about their favourite bit of tech – we hear from aro…
Inoculation videos against misinformation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:00
Inoculation against misinformation Could people be inoculated and protected against misinformation online? A new study published in Science Advances shows that short animated videos could protect people from harmful cont…
India’s cyber scam scourge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:23
Nearly a third of people in India lost money through online fraud in 2020 alone. Of them, it is thought that only 17% saw any returns through redressal mechanisms. Despite this prevalence of scams, reports have shown tha…
Misinformation on the midterms on social media [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:08
With the US midterm elections only a few months away Twitter has announced how it plans to “enable healthy civic conversation” on its platform i.e. how they plan to control political disinformation. Journalist Emma Wooll…
How Nancy Pelosi’s flight was tracked [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:46
Were you one of the 2.92million people who was watching Nancy Pelosi fly into Taiwan on FlightRadar24 bypassing Chinese bases in the South China Sea as it approached Taipei? It’s one of the most popular flight tracking s…
Is disability tech delivering? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:53
Why does tech not understand my speech? Physicist Dr Claire Malone is facing a problem: no speech-to-text software understands her. She is living with cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her movement and muscle coor…
Grassroots data – holding the powerful to account [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:16
Open source investigators We live in an age where there is data on almost everything, and a large chunk of it is publicly available. You only need to know where to look. There are many investigators on the internet that…
Self-driving cars on the horizon? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:06
A recent amendment to a regulation by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) will extend automated driving technology to 130 km/h. The regulation, which will come into effect in January 2023, will set…
Are internet shutdowns evolving? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:09
Internet shutdowns have been a global issue for many years, and Digital Planet has reported on many of them, from Cuba and Myanmar to Iran. A new United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) report now warns of the dramati…
Deepfake calls to European mayors? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:40
On June 24th, the mayor of Berlin thought she was on a video call with the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko. The call, however, was fake. The head of the Deutsche Welle’s fact-checking team Joscha Weber tells Gareth what…