Simon McGarr
@tupped.bsky.social
Solicitor, consultant, artist, writes TheGist.ie newsletter.
Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.
Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Its not just Musk, the lobbying from the US government towards CnaM and the Irish government has been both subtle and overt. (This language in this state department memo to CnaM is positively insane.) www.thestory.ie/2025/09/03/u...
January 26, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Its not just Musk, the lobbying from the US government towards CnaM and the Irish government has been both subtle and overt. (This language in this state department memo to CnaM is positively insane.) www.thestory.ie/2025/09/03/u...
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔
January 26, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔
Reposted by Simon McGarr
A British soldier once used his gun to furiously knock out a tray of chips my uncle was carrying and eating after a night out in Newry, because no chippy in the town would serve them - sincerely hope no ICE officer is able to enjoy a treat for the rest of their days in their locality
January 26, 2026 at 4:51 PM
A British soldier once used his gun to furiously knock out a tray of chips my uncle was carrying and eating after a night out in Newry, because no chippy in the town would serve them - sincerely hope no ICE officer is able to enjoy a treat for the rest of their days in their locality
One of the founding theories of The Gist is that eventually we- those who see each other’s ideas pop up regularly on little text-based networks like this- will be betrayed by an algorithm and may lose touch with each other.
Subscribing to a newsletter (free!) keeps us able to hear each other
Subscribing to a newsletter (free!) keeps us able to hear each other
January 26, 2026 at 11:15 AM
One of the founding theories of The Gist is that eventually we- those who see each other’s ideas pop up regularly on little text-based networks like this- will be betrayed by an algorithm and may lose touch with each other.
Subscribing to a newsletter (free!) keeps us able to hear each other
Subscribing to a newsletter (free!) keeps us able to hear each other
Reposted by Simon McGarr
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
January 26, 2026 at 12:01 AM
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
This is a huge win for @iccl.bsky.social whose @johnnyryan.bsky.social has been arguing for recommender systems to face scrutiny for some time now.
Confirmed - EU Commission opens investigation into X as regards Grok nudifications - and also widens its earlier investigation into X to include recommender systems - ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Commission investigates Grok and X\'s recommender systems under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
ec.europa.eu
January 26, 2026 at 11:10 AM
This is a huge win for @iccl.bsky.social whose @johnnyryan.bsky.social has been arguing for recommender systems to face scrutiny for some time now.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Confirmed - EU Commission opens investigation into X as regards Grok nudifications - and also widens its earlier investigation into X to include recommender systems - ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Commission investigates Grok and X\'s recommender systems under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
ec.europa.eu
January 26, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Confirmed - EU Commission opens investigation into X as regards Grok nudifications - and also widens its earlier investigation into X to include recommender systems - ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Background in context of the previous fine against X here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Press reporting that the EU Commission will open proceedings against Grok today - www.rte.ie/news/busines...
The Commission register of documents today indeed lists the opening of a proceeding under the Digital Services Act (no further details)
The Commission register of documents today indeed lists the opening of a proceeding under the Digital Services Act (no further details)
EU Commission to open proceedings against Grok - report
The EU Commission will open proceedings against Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok under the Digital Services Act today, Germany's Handelsblatt has reported, citing three high-ranking EU officials.
www.rte.ie
January 26, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Press reporting that the EU Commission will open proceedings against Grok today - www.rte.ie/news/busines...
The Commission register of documents today indeed lists the opening of a proceeding under the Digital Services Act (no further details)
The Commission register of documents today indeed lists the opening of a proceeding under the Digital Services Act (no further details)
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Only 2000 signatures needed now for Ireland to pass the threshold. We're at 70%, France is at 300%!! For gawds sake.
C'mon #speirgorm we can do better than France!
Don't just share on the socials, send direct what's app, message, get the phone out at break time. ✊ 🇵🇸 🇮🇪
#JusticeForPalestine
C'mon #speirgorm we can do better than France!
Don't just share on the socials, send direct what's app, message, get the phone out at break time. ✊ 🇵🇸 🇮🇪
#JusticeForPalestine
Sign! For ECIs to be considered by the European Commission, each country must meet its threshold, for Ireland that's 10,080. We are currently at just under 6,000, approx 58%, so we need a big push! Belgium, Finland, France and Spain are there, let's get there too!
eci.ec.europa.eu/055/public/#...
eci.ec.europa.eu/055/public/#...
January 26, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Only 2000 signatures needed now for Ireland to pass the threshold. We're at 70%, France is at 300%!! For gawds sake.
C'mon #speirgorm we can do better than France!
Don't just share on the socials, send direct what's app, message, get the phone out at break time. ✊ 🇵🇸 🇮🇪
#JusticeForPalestine
C'mon #speirgorm we can do better than France!
Don't just share on the socials, send direct what's app, message, get the phone out at break time. ✊ 🇵🇸 🇮🇪
#JusticeForPalestine
Well, well, well.
2️⃣ The Charge: Grok stands accused of generating sexualised images and videos of real people—including minors—upon user request, which are then disseminated via X. Brussels views this as a severe violation of European safety standards. ⚖️🤖
January 26, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Well, well, well.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
1️⃣ Handelsblatt Exclusive: Finally, the @ec.europa.eu is set to launch proceedings against Elon Musk’s AI chatbot #Grok today, according to Handelsblatt. The aim is to force xAI to withdraw the bot from the European market under the Digital Services Act (DSA). 🇪🇺🚫
KI: EU-Kommission eröffnet Verfahren gegen Chatbot Grok
Die EU-Kommission will härter gegen sexualisierte Bilder des KI-Bots vorgehen. Das erfuhr das Handelsblatt exklusiv. Zuvor war die Entscheidung aus politischer Sorge verschoben worden.
www.handelsblatt.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:56 AM
1️⃣ Handelsblatt Exclusive: Finally, the @ec.europa.eu is set to launch proceedings against Elon Musk’s AI chatbot #Grok today, according to Handelsblatt. The aim is to force xAI to withdraw the bot from the European market under the Digital Services Act (DSA). 🇪🇺🚫
Reposted by Simon McGarr
It's not. Even if the change is coming from a desire to save time/money to do something else, judicial review is an incredibly important right to keep because sometimes it's the only route left to challenge injustice.
January 26, 2026 at 9:39 AM
It's not. Even if the change is coming from a desire to save time/money to do something else, judicial review is an incredibly important right to keep because sometimes it's the only route left to challenge injustice.
“Is language the self, or a means of expressing it?”
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
“Large language models are trained on vast amounts of human-written text, material filled with descriptions of various emotions and inner experience. Because of that, Askell said she is ‘more inclined’ to believe that models are ‘feeling things’.” This is a complete non sequitur. #PhilAI
Anthropic's philosopher, Amanda Askell, says she worries that AI might not 'feel that loved' and grow up feeling 'always judged.'
January 26, 2026 at 9:27 AM
“Is language the self, or a means of expressing it?”
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
My Meta account is currently under permanent suspension for "breaching Meta's rules on child exploitation"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
January 26, 2026 at 9:23 AM
My Meta account is currently under permanent suspension for "breaching Meta's rules on child exploitation"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
The declared plan is to penalise *successful* applicants by making them pay legal costs for cases they *won*.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
January 26, 2026 at 9:22 AM
The declared plan is to penalise *successful* applicants by making them pay legal costs for cases they *won*.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
The council is positioning itself as a champion of the public interest – but what about the public interest in adequate housing, transport and energy?
www.irishtimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:07 AM
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
TikTok in the US is suddenly ripe for collapse.
I just got multiplr strikes for saying his back was turned.
January 26, 2026 at 7:31 AM
TikTok in the US is suddenly ripe for collapse.
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
January 26, 2026 at 12:01 AM
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
life changing news.
jaguars are indeed soft.
jaguars are indeed soft.
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
January 25, 2026 at 11:50 PM
life changing news.
jaguars are indeed soft.
jaguars are indeed soft.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Guy famous for making torture legal voice: “no I totally used to believe in international law….”
International law no longer serves as an instrument of global stability—and the U.S. should use this moment to argue for a different approach to the rules of war, John Yoo argues.
A New International Law Can Rise From the Ashes
The United States should use this moment to argue for a different approach to the rules of war.
bit.ly
January 25, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Guy famous for making torture legal voice: “no I totally used to believe in international law….”
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey was present in the House of Commons when Reginald Maudling said this shit and responded by marching over and slapping him across his lying Tory face btw
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey was present in the House of Commons when Reginald Maudling said this shit and responded by marching over and slapping him across his lying Tory face btw
Reposted by Simon McGarr
"We don't require a video. We have an official statement from DHS which has not been disproven." - Walter Hudson, Republican Representative from Albert Lea.
January 25, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"We don't require a video. We have an official statement from DHS which has not been disproven." - Walter Hudson, Republican Representative from Albert Lea.
