00:00How much danger does Grok and other social media platforms pose for users?
00:06Because I find it interesting that the UK government is going after Grok,
00:10but I understand that other chat platforms can do something very similar.
00:16So, exactly. I think that the online space and the real world are now increasingly becoming blurred.
00:23And crimes that happen on the internet have real-world consequences and vice versa.
00:27And so, this is why regulating the online space is so challenging because we're talking about servers and global user bases
00:36and in lots of instances, tech companies that aren't even HQ'd in the UK or the European Union in most instances.
00:43So, it makes it really difficult.
00:44But the idea that you can post a completely innocent picture of yourself online and it can be seized and manipulated by people
00:54who simply want to cause you harm and it be circulated and seen by millions, if not billions of people,
01:00is yet another reminder to young women and girls.
01:03They're just not safe. And it's a reminder that you don't enjoy the same freedoms as men, you know,
01:09and that your image is not your own and that you are kind of always, there is always a chance that you can be abused,
01:16which I think is the right word to use here, in the online space.
01:19So, I think it is incredibly harmful to what it does to putting a stealing and a self-censoring behavior on women.
01:25But you make a very valid point, you know, this technology is available everywhere.
01:30It's worth noting that ChatGPT and Claude, who are those big kind of household AI names,
01:35actually don't allow you to make these, you know, to request and query images and to nudify or humiliate women.
01:44They just don't allow it.
01:45So, the technology exists, but equally, there are other kind of bad actors and far less regulated sites that do allow this.
01:51And the UK, at the end of last year, banned these apps, these nudify apps that allow you to kind of remove people's clothes without their consent and images.
02:00But there are lots of bad actors out there.
02:02But Grok, X, Elon Musk, you know, these are big household names.
02:06And taking them, you know, holding them to account and taking them to court on this,
02:10whether it's kind of the court, public opinion or an actual one,
02:13I think is really important message to women and girls everywhere that you are as welcome and as safe on the Internet as anyone else.
02:19And I think the big question happening now is, does Ofcom, of course, the UK regulator,
02:25have the resources needed to take on the big tech titans such as Elon Musk's ex, Rebecca?
02:34I mean, Ofcom is often referred to here as sort of being slightly toothless.
02:38It's our regulator.
02:39It regulates our broadcast, our airwaves.
02:41And now under the online safety bill, it's got the ability to take tech companies to task.
02:47So it can now fine companies like X, like Meta, up to 10 percent of their global profit or 18 million pounds,
02:54depending what's higher, if those companies are seen to be in breach of UK law.
02:59How you enforce that with a company that's not HQ'd in the UK is a challenge and is something we're yet to be seen.
03:05And we're also waiting for Ofcom to give us any indication as to when their investigation will be concluded.
03:10We know that an investigation has begun, but we don't know if that's going to be sort of 24 hours, 48 hours or next week.
03:16And so in the meantime, while Grok have said that now this functionality is only available to people who are paying,
03:22there is still this online harm happening and it's probably happening while we speak.
03:26So it will be a great test of Ofcom's resolve.
03:29But I think the jury is out as to whether it actually has got the resource, the ability or the might to get this sort of change enacted.
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