TJ McIntyre
@tjmcintyre.com
I'm an associate professor of law at University College Dublin specialising in technology law (mostly privacy/data protection/cybercrime/fundamental rights), consultant solicitor with FP Logue LLP, and chair of Digital Rights Ireland.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
thread about X’s new TOS. tldr is musk can now sue users for any reason in a TX court he basically owns, so he’ll almost certainly win. and this is a platform politicians and journalists largely refuse to leave.
Conservative influencer Ashley St Clair had a baby with Elon Musk in 2024. Things turned sour when she expressed mild support of trans rights. Elon cut child support and sued for custody; his followers made deepfake porn of her on X; she sued X; now X is suing HER!
But this isn’t just a soap opera:
But this isn’t just a soap opera:
January 17, 2026 at 10:27 PM
thread about X’s new TOS. tldr is musk can now sue users for any reason in a TX court he basically owns, so he’ll almost certainly win. and this is a platform politicians and journalists largely refuse to leave.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Last year, we made the decision to step away from X.
The Royal Irish Academy is committed to creating, convening, and sharing knowledge for the public good and as an organisation we value Independence; Integrity; Curiosity; Openness and Rigour.
In our view, X no longer aligns with these values
The Royal Irish Academy is committed to creating, convening, and sharing knowledge for the public good and as an organisation we value Independence; Integrity; Curiosity; Openness and Rigour.
In our view, X no longer aligns with these values
January 17, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Last year, we made the decision to step away from X.
The Royal Irish Academy is committed to creating, convening, and sharing knowledge for the public good and as an organisation we value Independence; Integrity; Curiosity; Openness and Rigour.
In our view, X no longer aligns with these values
The Royal Irish Academy is committed to creating, convening, and sharing knowledge for the public good and as an organisation we value Independence; Integrity; Curiosity; Openness and Rigour.
In our view, X no longer aligns with these values
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Ireland, as the poster child for globalisation, multilateralism and the rule of law, has everything to loose in this new global (dis)order. And yet I get little or no sense of anything beyond ‘business as usual’ from Irish political leaders, government departments and state agencies.
🇬🇱 Carney on Greenland: We are NATO partners with Denmark. Our full partnership and our obligations to Article 5 and Article 2 stand.
🎙️ New world order?
🇨🇦 Carney: The architecture, the multilateral system is being eroded—undercut. The question is what gets built in its place...
🎙️ New world order?
🇨🇦 Carney: The architecture, the multilateral system is being eroded—undercut. The question is what gets built in its place...
January 16, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Ireland, as the poster child for globalisation, multilateralism and the rule of law, has everything to loose in this new global (dis)order. And yet I get little or no sense of anything beyond ‘business as usual’ from Irish political leaders, government departments and state agencies.
Is this meant to refer to the grok app rather than the X app? Hard to say, with the exception of Niamh Smyth government messaging has been all over the place.
January 16, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Is this meant to refer to the grok app rather than the X app? Hard to say, with the exception of Niamh Smyth government messaging has been all over the place.
Irish PM: Apple and Google should remove X from app stores but the government will continue to use it. Joined up thinking, right there.
He did say Apple & Google should remove it from app stores.
He also said the Govt wouldn’t give “kneejerk” response by immediately coming off X, saying other platforms have issues too.
I interjected to say those other platforms don’t generate CSAM.
He accepts that but said other issues exist.
He also said the Govt wouldn’t give “kneejerk” response by immediately coming off X, saying other platforms have issues too.
I interjected to say those other platforms don’t generate CSAM.
He accepts that but said other issues exist.
January 16, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Irish PM: Apple and Google should remove X from app stores but the government will continue to use it. Joined up thinking, right there.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Victims include the mother of one of Musk's 14 children: She has sued xAI for creating sexual images of her without consent. Her X account has now been stripped of its verification checkmark, premium subscription and ability to monetise her posts.
www.ft.com/content/519a...
www.ft.com/content/519a...
January 16, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Victims include the mother of one of Musk's 14 children: She has sued xAI for creating sexual images of her without consent. Her X account has now been stripped of its verification checkmark, premium subscription and ability to monetise her posts.
www.ft.com/content/519a...
www.ft.com/content/519a...
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual content
X has continued to allow users to post highly sexualised videos of women in bikinis generated by its AI tool Grok, despite the company’s claim to have cracked down on misuse.
The Guardian was able to create short videos of people stripping to bikinis from photographs of fully clothed, real women. It was also possible to post this adult content on to X’s public platform without any sign of it being moderated, meaning the clip could be viewed within seconds by anyone with an account. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:12 AM
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Again it is something that people in previous eras have commented on but I still find it just astonishing to witness in my own: fascism is somehow the natural ideology of loser men, just all of our most pathetic and contemptible instincts rendered into a worldview.
imagine letting these people run anything more consequential than a lemonade stand
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk admits cheating at video games, chat transcript appears to show
Video posted by top gamer shows what he says is X conversation in which billionaire admits ‘account boosting’
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Again it is something that people in previous eras have commented on but I still find it just astonishing to witness in my own: fascism is somehow the natural ideology of loser men, just all of our most pathetic and contemptible instincts rendered into a worldview.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
This is why there is no free speech without anonymous speech.
This is why online ID checks / age verification is incompatible with the 1st amendment and human rights.
This is why "make everyone use their real names" is not a real solution to online hate & harm
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
This is why online ID checks / age verification is incompatible with the 1st amendment and human rights.
This is why "make everyone use their real names" is not a real solution to online hate & harm
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Homeland Security wants to know who's anonymously posting about ICE
www.politico.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:45 PM
This is why there is no free speech without anonymous speech.
This is why online ID checks / age verification is incompatible with the 1st amendment and human rights.
This is why "make everyone use their real names" is not a real solution to online hate & harm
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
This is why online ID checks / age verification is incompatible with the 1st amendment and human rights.
This is why "make everyone use their real names" is not a real solution to online hate & harm
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Some data on what X has (and crucially hasn't done) to limit its nudifying and pornification service.
Elon Musk’s Grok ‘Undressing’ Problem Isn’t Fixed
X has placed more restrictions on Grok’s ability to generate explicit AI images, but tests show that the updates have created a patchwork of limitations that fail to fully address the issue.
www.wired.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Some data on what X has (and crucially hasn't done) to limit its nudifying and pornification service.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
#New Minister Niamh Smyth says X is 'absolutely not' off the hook and she'll be telling company as much in a meeting tomorrow.
She tells me, after meeting the Attorney General this evening, she's confident Ireland has 'robust' laws in place to be enforced here.
@virginmedianews.bsky.social
She tells me, after meeting the Attorney General this evening, she's confident Ireland has 'robust' laws in place to be enforced here.
@virginmedianews.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 6:26 PM
#New Minister Niamh Smyth says X is 'absolutely not' off the hook and she'll be telling company as much in a meeting tomorrow.
She tells me, after meeting the Attorney General this evening, she's confident Ireland has 'robust' laws in place to be enforced here.
@virginmedianews.bsky.social
She tells me, after meeting the Attorney General this evening, she's confident Ireland has 'robust' laws in place to be enforced here.
@virginmedianews.bsky.social
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
It turns out someone from X could actually find an earlier slot in their diary and have managed to squeeze the Minister in on Thursday.
Would love to read that email exchange.
Would love to read that email exchange.
January 15, 2026 at 6:40 PM
It turns out someone from X could actually find an earlier slot in their diary and have managed to squeeze the Minister in on Thursday.
Would love to read that email exchange.
Would love to read that email exchange.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
I wrote a whole fuckin' NYT article about how red teamers are scared to try to test AI models for their AI-CSAM capability for fear of legal liability, and it turned out the answer all along was "just goad your dumbfuck users into paying you $8 to do it for you & post the results in your replies"
January 15, 2026 at 6:40 PM
I wrote a whole fuckin' NYT article about how red teamers are scared to try to test AI models for their AI-CSAM capability for fear of legal liability, and it turned out the answer all along was "just goad your dumbfuck users into paying you $8 to do it for you & post the results in your replies"
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Holy hell, what an obituary
It's fascinating to see the tech oligarchs whispering into Trump's ear in real time. Who was it today? Musk, Pichai, Zuckerberg?
January 15, 2026 at 4:31 PM
It's fascinating to see the tech oligarchs whispering into Trump's ear in real time. Who was it today? Musk, Pichai, Zuckerberg?
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
this is from early december and i think it needs to be clear to people. this is what the trump/musk/vance et al party wants. destroy europe. whether its tech reg or invading greenland, it's all part of the same objective.
destabilization for sure, elon speaks for the WH (certainly for jd)
January 15, 2026 at 4:25 PM
this is from early december and i think it needs to be clear to people. this is what the trump/musk/vance et al party wants. destroy europe. whether its tech reg or invading greenland, it's all part of the same objective.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
NASA say that the crew member who was ill and returned to earth is doing well and now having a meal with colleagues.
January 15, 2026 at 1:31 PM
NASA say that the crew member who was ill and returned to earth is doing well and now having a meal with colleagues.
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
German prosecutors have charged two men accused of trying to get parcel bombs onto airliners on behalf of Russia.
“Such parcels were to be ignited [...], causing as much damage as possible,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Russia is not letting up.
www.ft.com/content/0088...
“Such parcels were to be ignited [...], causing as much damage as possible,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Russia is not letting up.
www.ft.com/content/0088...
Germany charges two men in postal bomb plot linked to Russia
Scheme to blow up mail depots uncovered last year is one of a string of sabotage attacks co-ordinated by Moscow
www.ft.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:32 AM
German prosecutors have charged two men accused of trying to get parcel bombs onto airliners on behalf of Russia.
“Such parcels were to be ignited [...], causing as much damage as possible,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Russia is not letting up.
www.ft.com/content/0088...
“Such parcels were to be ignited [...], causing as much damage as possible,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Russia is not letting up.
www.ft.com/content/0088...
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
You can still create bikini images for free on grok’s website, app and on X.com’s grok tab. Confirmed as of five minutes ago. It’s more than tech that needs a good dose of cop on. www.irishtimes.com/technology/2...y/
People keep trying to make AI more human. Why?
For all the technology and computing power behind it, it seems the one thing AI lacks is a good dose of cop-on
www.irishtimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:56 PM
You can still create bikini images for free on grok’s website, app and on X.com’s grok tab. Confirmed as of five minutes ago. It’s more than tech that needs a good dose of cop on. www.irishtimes.com/technology/2...y/
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
You have to assume the main reason they’re desperately trying to hang on to this is because it’s the first faint sniff of revenue growth they’ve had since Musk eviscerated Twitter
January 15, 2026 at 1:29 PM
You have to assume the main reason they’re desperately trying to hang on to this is because it’s the first faint sniff of revenue growth they’ve had since Musk eviscerated Twitter
The size helpfully printed on the side of the tyre?
January 15, 2026 at 1:53 PM
The size helpfully printed on the side of the tyre?
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
X: "We are holding are holding the rule of law in Ireland in total contempt."
Enoch Burke (breaking out of prison): "HEY! That's MY job!"
Enoch Burke (breaking out of prison): "HEY! That's MY job!"
All else aside, what could he possibly have in his wee schoolbag?
January 15, 2026 at 12:50 PM
X: "We are holding are holding the rule of law in Ireland in total contempt."
Enoch Burke (breaking out of prison): "HEY! That's MY job!"
Enoch Burke (breaking out of prison): "HEY! That's MY job!"
Reposted by TJ McIntyre
For the record: as of right now, the Grok app is still doing all the things they’ve said it is stopping, for users with free/unpaid accounts.
January 15, 2026 at 11:23 AM
For the record: as of right now, the Grok app is still doing all the things they’ve said it is stopping, for users with free/unpaid accounts.
Worth noting that pure text can also constitute illegal “child pornography” (statutory term) under Irish law also.
Online conversation held to constitute child pornography
A man has failed in his appeal against conviction for producing child pornography in a Skype conversation with a third party. The appellant, Mark Mulligan, had challenged the status of the conversatio...
www.irishlegal.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Worth noting that pure text can also constitute illegal “child pornography” (statutory term) under Irish law also.