Will Starmer have the guts to punish Musk for his undressing app?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is the government about to stand up to Elon Musk? That now seems possible. Downing Street said today that they would support action from Ofcom - the media regulator - against his platforms if they deemed it necessary.
Ofcom has announced that it has launched an investigation into Musk's X platform over its AI tool Grok being used to create non-consensual sexualised images of women and children. Ministers have said they expect action within days.
After unveiling the lowest homicide figures in more than a decade, Jon and Lewis speak to Sir Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor - about how to confront the hard right claims that London is a 'hellhole', and what can be done about the misinformation on Musk's platforms.
Later, one-time Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was unveiled today as the latest Reform defector. He's the biggest name to move over to Nigel Farage's party so far but, having pledged he would remain a Conservative for life, why has he done it?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK commercial banking, opening up a world of |
| 0:06.1 | opportunity. |
| 0:08.7 | This is a global player original podcast. It's perhaps been a long time coming, but potentially |
| 0:16.4 | a showdown between the UK government and Elon Musk may finally be here. |
| 0:22.6 | As ex-Elon Musk's social media platform has now been placed under formal investigation |
| 0:27.6 | by the UK media regulator, Ofcom, after its GROC chatbot has enabled users to digitally undress people, |
| 0:35.6 | including women and underage children. |
| 0:38.5 | Offcom could issue a fine. |
| 0:41.5 | And if X doesn't comply with the fine, there could be a move to shut X down in the UK. |
| 0:49.0 | Would the government really have the bulls to take on the richest man in the world and close friend of Donald Trump. |
| 0:57.1 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:03.1 | The Newsagents. |
| 1:04.7 | It's John. |
| 1:05.3 | It's Lewis. |
| 1:05.8 | And we are at City Hall in London. |
| 1:08.5 | And these questions about GROC, we're going to address with the Mayor of London, |
| 1:12.5 | Sir Sadiq Khan, in just the moment. But as we were coming over here, we heard that Offcom had |
| 1:18.1 | announced that it was launching an investigation into X because of what it's been putting out |
| 1:23.1 | on its AI platform GROC and the possibility that 10% of earnings could be a fine levied at Elon Musk, |
| 1:32.8 | some 18 million pounds potentially. |
| 1:34.9 | And then the possibility that if he doesn't comply with that, well, there could be a move |
| 1:39.1 | to shut X down in the UK. |
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