BBC’s Tech Tent: Guest Analyst

Many thanks to the BBC's Tech Tent team for inviting me to take part in their final broadcast before the show undergoes an exciting rebrand to "Tech Life."

In this episode, we tackled the growing issue of "Splinternets"—a term describing a fragmented internet where different regions or nations operate under their own distinct rules, censorship, and infrastructure, effectively breaking the global, open web into isolated pockets.

You can listen to our full conversation on the BBC website here.

Image credit: Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters

The Mechanics of Shutdowns

Our conversation was prompted by recent government-mandated internet shutdowns, particularly in India. These occur when authorities intentionally disrupt access to online services, often by forcing providers to disconnect or throttle local networks to control information flow or suppress protests. Host Zoe Kleinman and I explored the technical reality of how these shutdowns are enforced; you can hear my detailed explanation starting at the 17:07 mark.

Background on the Topic

I was invited to contribute to this episode following my work in the BBC’s internal Blue Room, where I spent several years tracking the consumer internet experience. My sessions on "Digital Identity"—which covered internet advertising, tracking, and the eventual global drift toward "splinternet" infrastructure—struck a chord with my colleagues in the newsroom, leading to this invitation.

For those interested in the deep dive, a version of that internal Blue Room session is available to watch on the BBC Academy website here, as I discussed in a previous blog post here.

For more updates on the show's evolution, you can follow the new Tech Life homepage.