Latest news with #DigitalSafety
Time of India
06-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bihar govt to use AI, ML for bridge maintenance after series of collapses
Advt Advt By , ETInfra Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. Get updates on your preferred social platform Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more. NEW DELHI: The Bihar government has formulated ' Bihar State Bridge Management and Maintenance Policy , 2025' as per which artificial intelligence and machine learning technology will be utilised for undertaking maintenance of bridges in the state as part of digital audit initiative.'For management and maintenance of bridges, 'Bihar State Bridge Management & Maintenance Policy, 2025' has been approved by the Cabinet and it has come into effect dated 06.06.2025. This Policy is a long term bridge maintenance policy for all bridges and culverts on the roads belonging to the Road Construction Department,' said a presentation outlining the policy framework, a copy of which was seen by ET policy framework has been released after the Supreme Court took cognisance of several incidents of bridges collapsing in Munger, Patna districts among others, in the last few years. According to a report by The Hindu, a petition filed in the Supreme Court had called for formulation of a mechanism or policy which mandates real time audit of bridges in the policy framework outlined that while undertaking digital health assessment of bridges , data collection via visual inspection utilising sensors and drones will be undertaken along with use of 3D digital twins.'Digital Bridge Safety Audit of Bairihari Ghat Bridge on river Kareh in the district of Samastipur, has been awarded to M/S Vital Environment India Private Limited, Gurgaon,' the document stated.'They have conducted the Digital Safety Audit and the report will be submitted using Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) based software and on the basis of the detailed report, the repairing/ retrofitting work shall be done by the BRPNNL (Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd) through another contractor.' it to the document, in the state, a total number of 12,065 culverts have been physically surveyed as part of a safety audit. Out of the total surveyed, 96 are damaged culverts wherein 4 need reconstruction and 92 need special repair. Additionally, the total number of bridges physically surveyed were at 743, out of which damaged bridges are 29 in number, which need special Indian Institute of Technology Patna and Delhi, have been awarded the work to undertake third Party Safety Audit of 45 bridges and 40 bridges respectively, located at Patna, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Jamui, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Lakhisarai, Kaimur, Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, West and east Champaran, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Kishanganj, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi.
Arab News
24-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
TikTok says removed nearly 25 million videos in Pakistan during first quarter of 2025
ISLAMABAD: Video-sharing platform TikTok said this week it removed nearly 25 million videos in Pakistan during the first quarter of 2025 for violating its community guidelines, underscoring its efforts to ensure a safe digital space for everyone. TikTok shared the information in its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, which covers data from January to March 2025. 'In Q1 2025, TikTok removed a total of 24,954,128 videos in Pakistan,' the video-sharing platform said in a press release on Wednesday. 'Proactive removal rates in Pakistan remained high at 99.4 percent, with 95.8 percent of these videos removed within 24 hours.' TikTok said globally it removed around 211 million videos worldwide during the quarter, which represents about 0.9 percent of all content uploaded to the platform. The platform said that of the total globally removed videos, 184,378,987 were detected and taken down using automated detection technologies, while 7,525,184 videos were reinstated after further review. 'The report also indicates that a significant portion of total removed videos— 30.1 percent— contained sensitive or mature themes that did not align with TikTok's content policies,' the statement said. The platform said that an additional 11.5 percent of the videos removed globally breached the platform's safety and civility standards, while 15.6 percent violated privacy and security guidelines. 'Additionally, 45.5 percent of the removed videos were flagged as misinformation, and 13.8 percent of the videos removed were flagged as edited media and AI-generated content,' it added. This is not the first time that TikTok has removed videos from Pakistan. It took down millions of videos in Pakistan last year also for violating community guidelines. In the past, Pakistani authorities have banned the video-sharing service several times, with the first ban instituted in October 2020 over what was described as widespread complaints about allegedly 'immoral, obscene, and vulgar' content on the app. The service has been prohibited from operating in the country thrice for more than 15 months since then. In November 2021, a Pakistani court finally reversed the ban after TikTok assured the government it would control the spread of objectionable content.
Arab News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
HRC adopts Saudi-submitted resolution to protect children in cyberspace
RIYADH: The Human Rights Council has unanimously adopted a resolution submitted by Saudi Arabia aimed at protecting children in cyberspace, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The resolution is rooted in the global initiative 'Child Protection in Cyberspace' launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October 2024. Presented during the council's 59th session, the draft resolution was introduced by the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila. The resolution, co-sponsored by Kuwait, Algeria, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Vietnam, received unanimous approval, reflecting broad international support. In his address to the council, the official highlighted the dual nature of the digital space in children's lives, noting that while it offers valuable opportunities for learning and interaction, it also presents growing risks that demand coordinated international responses. He emphasized the need for strengthened national frameworks and international cooperation to ensure safety for children online. The resolution mirrors the key pillars of the crown prince's initiative, calling for enhanced global cooperation, the exchange of best practices, raising awareness, and the development of skills necessary to foster a safe and empowering digital environment for children. It further underscores the importance of providing tailored technical assistance to meet each country's specific needs and priorities, thereby building sustainable national capabilities in digital child protection. With its unanimous adoption, the resolution underscores the Kingdom's ongoing leadership in international efforts to create a secure, inclusive cyberspace for children worldwide, SPA said. It also affirms Saudi Arabia's growing influence in shaping global policy on child protection and cybersecurity.
Arab News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani Internet regulator, Meta join forces to tackle militancy in digital sphere
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Meta have organized a high-level workshop, titled 'Counter-Terrorism in the Digital Age,' the PTA said on Tuesday, aiming to ensure safe use on online spaces. The event brought together experts from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp along with representatives from key Pakistani government institutions and law enforcement agencies (LEAs). The workshop focused on Meta's evolving policies for tackling militancy-related content and enhancing cooperation between digital platforms, LEAs and regulators, according to the PTA. 'Collaboration with global platforms like Meta is vital to prevent the misuse of online spaces by extremist elements,' PTA Chairman Hafeez-ur-Rehman said, reaffirming the PTA's commitment to building a safer digital environment. The development comes amid a surge in militancy in Pakistan's western regions by religiously motivated groups like the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh as well as ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups. Pakistani officials have in the past said that these militant groups also used social media platforms to 'brainwash' and 'recruit' people, including women, in their ranks to carry out attacks. Militant attacks in Pakistan more than doubled from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024. Tuesday's workshop was part of the PTA's broader strategy to promote responsible online behavior and enhance national digital resilience, at which the participants discussed various mechanisms for complaint handling and content escalation, and engaged with Meta's policy specialists on various topics. 'Joint efforts like this are key to creating safer digital spaces while upholding community standards and fundamental rights,' Meta's Dangerous Organizations and Individuals (DOI) Policy lead Dr. Nawab Osman said.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Get involved: Send in your questions about staying safe online
Do you have questions about how to stay safe online? Companies have until 25 July to apply new safety measures laid out by Ofcom - the regulator that oversees TV, radio and the internet in the UK. It comes after the Online Safety Act was introduced, making online and social media companies legally responsible for keeping children and young people safe will be speaking to the government about the new regulations and we want to ask them YOUR questions. What do you want to know about online safety? Is there anything you want to know or ask the government about the new safety measure? Let us know in the comments below. What is the Online Safety Act 2023? The Online Safety Act is a new set of laws which aims to protect children and adults from illegal and harmful content online. The new guidelines mean tech companies will have to make changes to the technology they use that recommends content to young people, and introduce better age checks by 25 July 2025 or they could face big says its new rules include more than 40 guidelines that tech firms must follow, including:Algorithms - tech which offers content users may like - must be changed to filter out harmful content from children's age checks for people accessing age-restricted quick action when harmful content is terms of service easy for children to children the option to decline group chats invitations which may include harmful content, and to block and mute accounts and to disable comments on their own support to children who come across harmful a "named person accountable for children's safety" at the organisation.A yearly review of possible risks to children.
