The Know Daily - Wednesday 8 May 2024

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In the Australian state of Queensland, an area the size of Yosemite national park has been acquired for conservation. The purchase was made possible through an anonymous donation of $21m, which has been described as probably the single largest philanthropic contribution to land protection in Australia.

📲 Adapting algorithms

Social media platforms have been told to reformulate algorithms recommending harmful content to children, as part of Ofcom’s new codes of practice. 

What’s the background?
The Online Safety Act was introduced last autumn, and since then the UK media regulator Ofcom has been tasked with setting out how they expect tech firms to meet their new legal responsibilities to protect children. 

Ofcom has published a range of draft codes of practice in recent months, reported The Standard. These latest codes include more than 40 practical measures that Ofcom says will deliver a “step-change” in online safety for children in the UK. 

What are the specific measures?
The draft codes call on tech firms to make their platforms child-safe by default - and if not, to implement thorough age checks. For sites with age checks, companies will be required to “tame” recommendation algorithms (like“For You” pages) to ensure they do not show potentially harmful content to children. 

Is this even possible?
According to The Guardian, enforcing the new algorithm requirements will pose a challenge, with some companies “unsure how their own systems decide what content to promote and suppress”. Nevertheless, Ofcom says it is confident that its enforcement will be effective - and tech firms who don’t comply with the new codes could face hefty fines.

How have the proposals been received?
It’s been mixed. Some campaigners argue more still needs to be done to protect young people from online harm, while a spokesperson from the children’s charity NSPCC said the draft code was a “welcome step in the right direction”.

The draft code is open for consultation until 17 July, before it is finalised and presented to parliament.

👩‍💼 Meet micro-feminism

TikTok’s newest trend aims to put a label on the small acts of solidarity that women show each other in the workplace.

Go on…
Micro-feminism underscores the idea that creating change “doesn’t always require grandiose actions”, Glamour UK explains. Instead, “small, highly intentional daily gestures” can help make the workplace more equitable and enjoyable for women. It might look like addressing the women first in a group email, or calling it out if a man takes credit for a female colleague’s idea.

Where did the term come from?
Micro-feminism started gaining momentum online back in March, when a TikTok by producer and host Ashley Chaney started going viral. Chaney says she can’t take credit for the term, but her video has been viewed 2.7M times, with users sharing their own acts of micro-feminism in the comments:

Is this anything new?
These small acts of solidarity obviously existed well before TikTok - so as with other social media trends (quiet quitting, bare minimum Mondays) micro-feminism is about naming a shared, previously unacknowledged experience.

But will it achieve anything? 
Good question. Experts broadly agree that any meaningful movement towards gender equality at work has to begin at the top - and the stats show we’re still quite a way off. Grant Thornton’s 2024 Women in Business report found that just 22% of UK mid-market businesses have a female CEO or managing director, despite numerous studies showing the positive impact of having more women in leadership positions.

Our takeaway? While micro-feminism may not be the key to equality at work, any movement aimed at overcoming the gender divide is welcome and definitely needed.

⚖️ Trump trial: Adult film star Stormy Daniels detailed her encounters with the former US president from the witness stand on Tuesday. Here are the key takeaways. 

🗳️ Club rules: The men-only Garrick Club voted to allow women to become members, for the first time in its 193-year history. 

🛬 Airport arrivals: A “nationwide issue” which caused big delays at passport e-gates on Tuesday night has been resolved. 

📽 Cinema shakeup: Disney said it plans to “focus more on quality” and release fewer films - including Marvel movies. 

🎈 Bucket list: Fancy a night in Pixar’s balloon-adorned, floating Up house? Airbnb is offering a load of iconic new stays - and most of them are free.

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Trivia answer:  B) French bakers set a new world record over the weekend when they made a 140m-long baguette. It’s really, really long. 

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