Simon McGarr
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tupped.bsky.social
Simon McGarr
@tupped.bsky.social
Solicitor, consultant, artist, writes TheGist.ie newsletter.
Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
NEW – Analysis: EVs just outsold petrol cars in EU for first time ever | @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org

Read here: buff.ly/5g3BVAp
January 27, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Twitter died a long time ago and X isn't worth it. Before I made the jump, my ego was holding me back. I was too concerned with vanity metrics. I finally realized if you're posting stuff people want to follow, then they'll follow you, even when you leave. www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/k...
Open-source champion Kelsey Hightower on the promise of Bluesky
Ann O’Dea spoke to US software engineer and open-source champion Kelsey Hightower about the promise of the AT protocol.
www.siliconrepublic.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
January 27, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
The reason why cyclists and pedestrians push back against these types of campaigns is not because we think visibility is bad (I wear hig-viz!), but because it's victim blaming that diverts attention from the real issues: dangerous drivers and poor infrastructure
January 27, 2026 at 11:23 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
my game based on Ireland's favourite deli sandwich, the Chicken Fillet Roll, was praised by players and fellow devs for its unusual food focus & strong writing

if you wanna check it out, it's a free, text-based game with a branching narrative made in Twine

unaminh.itch.io/chicken-fill... #gamedev
Chicken Fillet Rolls by Úna-Minh Kavanagh
What happens when you get 145 chicken fillet rolls?
unaminh.itch.io
January 27, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Darragh is the Minister For Saying Things But Not Doing Them. He's only appointed to oversee things that are never intended to happen.
January 27, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
I also don't think this is 'the EU view' but the view of a specific MEP group and not a few in governments gagging for more tech cashflows and believing the big fat tech blackpill on AI, data privacy etc . But they swallow it anyway
January 27, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Yet, EU underuse of its 'over-regulation' 🤔 has allowed so many catastrophic outcomes the EU has w/Big Tech. “The European view, not just my humble view, but in the European view, we have gone through a decade of over-regulation, it has to be said,” Ms Smyth said. www.irishtimes.com/politics/oir...
Social networks could be treated as publishers if they host illegal content, Minister of State says
Government considering law that would ban ‘deepfakes’, Niamh Smyth says
www.irishtimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
New: Unsealed court docs detail Big Tech’s yearslong, secret race to ingest the collective works of humanity, including Anthropic’s project to “destructively scan all the books in the world.”

Gift link: wapo.st/4rjXAMQ
How Silicon Valley built AI: Buying, scanning and destroying millions of books
Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.
wapo.st
January 27, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Sharing again, because we still haven't passed the threshold.
We are at 77%.

This petition is really important. Sign, share and make sure others sign, please. 🙏

eci.ec.europa.eu/055/public

#Speirgorm #Speirghorm
#JusticeForPalestine
January 27, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Once you set an unattainable or impossible policy goal every evidence that you have failed to meet it provides an excuse to extend your powers of coercion.

Applying the War on Drugs model of behaviour to remove the right of adults to privatly use VPNs, an objectively security-enhancing technology.
January 27, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Hard to imagine a more morally damning headline.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Payment processors were against CSAM until Grok started making it
“The industry is no longer willing to self-regulate.”
www.theverge.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Same. Even some with accounts like Dublin bus aren't updating. But they are on the feed so if they start, we'll see.
January 27, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Badly need more like the TFI,, GoAhead etc these days the main reason I visit X is for travel/traffic updates. #speirgorm
Inspired by #StormChandra flooding, here is an Irish travel feed. Bluesky traffic and transport updates in one place.

Suggestions for additions welcome (thanks to @livedrive.dublincityfm.ie for their list)

bsky.app/profile/cath...

#SpéirGorm
January 27, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
I have been printing these out and leaving them lying around on desks in the office. Nobody throws receipts away in offices just in case they are important.
January 26, 2026 at 10:57 PM
“Listen, I have always enjoyed the fun working environment as an Orc in Saruman’s army. But I am concerned that people will think I am a bad guy if we continue to work alongside Mordor’s orcs.”
Palantir employees are pressing company leadership over its work for ICE in internal company Slacks obtained by @wired.com

"In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this."

Scoop from @makenakelly.bsky.social
Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
“In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.
www.wired.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Why strengthen laws that are currently not being enforced anyway?
January 27, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.

It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
January 26, 2026 at 1:22 PM
This will be interesting. Who knows what fresh new items may start appearing on shelves and spice racks?
🔸 The world’s biggest free trade zone, covering 2 billion people
🔸 Unmatched access for EU companies, big and small, to India’s fast-growing economy
🔸 Tariff cuts on 96.6% of EU goods, saving EU businesses €4 billion every year
🔸 Stronger ties between the world’s two largest democracies
January 27, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
I'm not celebrating Bovino going under the bus because I think it means this is over.

I'm celebrating that we've entered the Shitheads Going Under the Bus era.

God I'm so pumped to trip more of them under it.
January 27, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Cost of living? Mumble mumble Ukraine Covid. Housing? Mumble mumble complicated no easy populist solutions.

But could we interest you in abandoning the triple lock and ramping up military spending?
January 27, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Sorry to twitter-post but I was looking for something in the archive and I had forgotten about this funny thing
November 9, 2024 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
I have a bad feeling about this…
"Shabana Mahmood announces police AI revolution & British FBI in huge shake-up"

"use of facial recognition will be ramped up & police forces will be axed in the biggest policing shake-up in 200 yrs"

"AI revolution & forces slashed"

What can possibly go wrong?
Shabana Mahmood announces police AI revolution and British FBI in huge shake-up
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the use of facial recognition will be ramped up and police forces will be axed in the biggest policing shake-up in 200 years
www.mirror.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Simon McGarr
The night before my dad's funeral in November, the entire crew of kids and grandkids went out for karaoke. We sang songs that he liked, songs that we liked, and song that reminded us of him. It was a rowdy crazy night.
January 26, 2026 at 10:57 PM