News imageThe Interface, The battle to delete your embarrassing online history

The Interface

The battle to delete your embarrassing online history

21 October 2026

Available for over a year

What if you could delete your most embarrassing photos from the internet, even the ones other people posted? A new California law addendum lets the children of family vloggers demand that content of them be taken down when they turn 18, and parents and platforms have to comply. Could this be the future for everyone?

Thomas Germain and Jessica Maddox ask what happens when childhood becomes content, why Europe have a "right to be forgotten" law but the US doesn't, and whether kidfluencers could be the tipping point for privacy rights for everyone.

Jess explains why many think the laws are needed, who's fighting them, and where they fall short. Tom asks what smart glasses, always-on listening devices and AI chatbots mean for people who never agreed to be recorded or shared.

Plus: after reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian data centres, many social media users claimed the internet had suddenly gone quiet, with no more malicious bots. But was the internet really nicer?

Tom and Jess unpack what Cloudflare's data showed about the Yandex issues, why BBC colleagues couldn't find evidence that the bots had gone, and what the story says about dead internet theory and why we're so ready to believe it.

The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and your world. Hosted by journalist Thomas Germain and “professor of the internet” Jessica Maddox, each episode unpacks, week by week, how technology is shaping all our futures. No jargon. Just two sharp voices debating the stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.

New episodes drop every Wednesday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”). To get in touch with the team: theinterface@bbc.com

The Interface is a BBC Studios production.

Producer: Becca Bryers

Executive Editor: Philip Sellars