Social bans, spiteful politics and valuation vibes - Ctrl Alt Lead podcast

Time to take a hard look at the intersection of tech and politics

In a special news-led episode of Ctrl Alt Lead**, Tom and Penny join forces to unpack a week of developments across tech policy, AI geopolitics and market dynamics.**

We open with the UK’s proposed ban on social media use for under-16s, which has already provoked strong reactions – not least among Penny’s teenage children.

The policy marks a shift in how regulators are approaching online safety, moving beyond pressure on platforms towards direct restrictions on users. We ask if this is the right move, debating the limits of parental responsibility when it comes to addictive products, and the differences between medium and media.

Penny argues that while the enforcement might be imperfect – a hammer to crack a nut – we can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. This could just be a pragmatic first step, although whether the UK has the political clout to demand further movement is another topic we discuss.

We also look at an escalating issue in AI: sovereignty, which has been thrown into harsh light by US restrictions on access to Anthropic’s most advanced models.

By banning non-Americans – which really means everyone, as there is no way to be certain of a user’s nationality – from Fable and Mythos, the Trump administration has not only thrown fuel on the tech sovereignty fire, but may have also damaged Anthropic’s IPO prospects. Was that on purpose? Listen to hear our analysis.

Finally, we stay on the IPO topic with a look at the headline-grabbling SpaceX IPO, with a revenue:valuation ratio more than double what any other tech company has seen – ever.

We’re truly in the era of hype-and-vibes investing, but are the fundamentals being overlooked, and are institutional investors set to make bank off of gullible retail amateurs? Join us to find out.

We have plenty more guests coming up to see you through the summer, including Tanya Cordrey, chief product officer at car financing platform Motorway; Elsevier CTO Jill Luber; and tech humanist Kate O'Neill.

To access the full podcast watch the video, use the web player, or find Ctrl Alt Lead now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.