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Maria Helen Murphy

@mariamurphy.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.2K following 28 posts

Associate Professor at Maynooth University. Technology Law & Human Rights, Privacy, Surveillance, AI, Media Law. 🐦@maria_h_murphy

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Reposted by Maria Helen Murphy
Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Ugh
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Ben Barclay @benbarclay.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Yet still people say “what’s the point in us acting if the rest of the world doesn’t”. The rest of the world is. It turns out Africans, Asians and South Americans also want a habitable planet. And green tech is often the cheapest option over the long term. 4/
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Ireland: Use of AI found in key report on favourable Aughinish planning decision by top authority.
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Philosopher Jersey Flight @jerseyflight.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Serious problem, attempts to succeed at it are only likely to increase. This should receive an automatic 25 year sentence:
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Asher Wolf @asherwolf.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
In Senate Budget Estimates 2026-27 this week, the department confirms human override was removed without consultation www.australianageingagenda.com.au/executive/po...
australianageingagenda.com.au
Removal of IAT human override lacked consultation - Australian Ageing Agenda
In Senate Budget Estimates 2026-27 this week, the department confirms human override was removed without consultation but argues the Independent Assessment Tool process has plenty of human involvement.
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Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
"the evidence actually shows that cameras cluster in neighbourhoods where opposition parties organise, where protests have happened and where the press has “made trouble” for ruling regimes."
globalvoices.org
How AI is upgrading African dictatorship
A March 2026 study by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the African Digital Rights Network found that 11 African governments had collectively spent more than USD 2 billion on AI-powered s...
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Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Rather than trying to push thru social media bans and promoting uncritical AI use in schools, politicians in Ireland and elsewhere need to look more closely at just how complex online abuse actually is. The online world is a growing disaster in unexpected ways www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
UK schools should remove pupils’ online photos as AI blackmail threat grows, say experts
Criminals are manipulating pictures found on school websites and social media to create sexually explicit images
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Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈 @iccl.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
We are looking for someone with significant experience to lead our policy team and work. This is an opportunity to shape and guide our policy output and have a direct impact on Ireland’s civil liberties and human rights landcape. Apply by 5pm on Sunday 31 May. lnkd.in/dZsQBMwJ
We are Hiring - Head Of Policy - Full Time - 35 Hours per week -Deadline Sunday 31st May
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michael veale @michae.lv · 05/05/2026
2 year research postdoc at UCL @laws.ucl.ac.uk on data and democracy, public law focus — could focus on surveillance and/or AI issues www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Chinese researchers have created a bamboo-based plastic as strong as petroleum-based plastics, which can fully biodegrade in soil in just 2 months phys.org/news/2025-10...
phys.org
Bamboo-based plastic can be made to biodegrade quickly, but still holds up in tough conditions
A new method to produce strong, biodegradable plastic from bamboo is reported in Nature Communications this week. The bioplastic resembles oil-based plastics in strength, shapability, and thermal stab...
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Carissa Véliz @carissaveliz.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
#Bookreview in @science.org! “The future is not a train to wait for but rather a canvas we co-create individually and collectively” #Authors www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Anticipating the future in an algorithmic age
Misleading predictions shape outcomes and facilitate abuses of power, but resistance is not futile
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olgacronin.bsky.social @olgacronin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Listen back to Ronan Murphy and @tjmcintyre.com who were excellent on @news.rte.ie's Today with David McCullagh explaining why proposals to allow gardaí access encrypted communications is so problematic from a technical, legal and human rights point of view 👇 www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
rte.ie
New security watchdog warns of significant threat of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks
Conor Lally, the Irish Times Crime Editor / Ronan Murphy, CEO of Smart Tech / TJ McIntyre, Associate professor in UCD and Chair of the Digital Rights Alliance
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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Every sensible government will spend the coming months accelerating the deployment of solar, batteries, heat pumps, and EVs, especially for lower income households. It’ll be a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run than subsidising fossil fuels the next time prices spike, which they will.
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Donncha O’Connell @donnchalaw.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Isabel Hayes: Court reports can make for distressing reading. There are good reasons for that. Press Ombudsman’s recent comments on graphic language in court reports highlight an issue court reporters have been attuned to for years. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
irishtimes.com
Analysis: Court reports can be distressing reading. There’s a good reason for that
Press Ombudsman’s recent comments on graphic language in court reports highlight an issue court reporters have been attuned to for years
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TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 08/04/2026
Interested in researching AI and judicial decision making? @brianbarryirl.bsky.social at Trinity College Dublin has two funded PhD vacancies (one in law, one in social sciences).
tcd.ie
PhD Vacancies - School of Law | Trinity College Dublin
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Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈 @iccl.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
“It's our position that this incremental introduction of laws conferring extraordinary powers risks entrenching a durable surveillance architecture in Irish society" - @olgacronin.bsky.social speaking to @techpolicypress.bsky.social about the government's plans. www.techpolicy.press/irelands-new...
techpolicy.press
Ireland's New Surveillance Bill Opens Door to Spyware Abuse
Ireland is considering a new bill that would legalize the use of spyware by the police, reports Vas Panagiotopoulos.
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Susan DuBose @houseofbast777.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
"I grew up across the street from a public library, and it was the only place my mom would let me go on my own. It was my second home, and I read everything that I could get." ~ Tracy Chapman Chapman by Nicholas Albrecht #Booksky
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Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈 @iccl.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
We're recruiting an AI expert to help us ensure supervision and enforcement of human rights in the context of AI and automated decision-making systems. The deadline to apply is next Wed 15 April but we will assess applications on a rolling basis so please apply early. www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
iccl.ie
Enforce is hiring: AI Expert
Work with us at ICCL Enforce. We are hiring an expert in Artificial Intelligence.
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Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Life achievement unlocked. “Your Data Will Be Used Against You” in Wired. #BookSky
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Rosamunde Van Brakel @rosamundevb.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
A Tennessee grandmother spent nearly six months behind bars after artificial intelligence facial recognition software wrongly identified her as a suspect in a bank fraud case – in North Dakota – a state she says she had never even visited. #rhizomaticharm www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
the-independent.com
Grandma jailed after AI error linked her to crime in state she never visited: lawyer
The charges were later dismissed after bank records showed she was in Tennessee at the time
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Kris Shrishak @krisshrishak.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
@mariamurphy.bsky.social and I have written a short report on protecting the ‘Privacy’ in Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) www.iccl.ie/news/new-icc... @iccl.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie
iccl.ie
New ICCL report on Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) often fall short on their promise of safeguarding privacy without limiting data use
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Carissa Véliz @carissaveliz.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Thrilled to share what the great historian @timothysnyder.bsky.social has to say about #PROPHECY! To pre-order the #book: US: a.co/d/00PLNpOt UK: amzn.eu/d/01WcZ4MQ #BookRecommendation
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Seanie Byrne 🦡 @seaniebyrne.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
This weeks discussion with @tjmcintyre.com & @adrianweckler.bsky.social is really worth a listen if you're in Ireland and interested in tech policy or privacy. podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
The Grok AI scandal — what happens now? Plus: why Ireland’s plan to link national ID to social media access is dystopian
Podcast Episode · The Big Tech Show · 09/01/2026 · 34m
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Justin @ediparolev.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
“Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. The physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work anywhere—if governments have the courage to change the rules.”
forbes.com
Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, A Big Lesson For The World
Uruguay built a power grid that runs 99% on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. Here’s how its bold energy overhaul became a global model.
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Frank Pasquale @frankpasquale.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I'm very happy to have published a chapter in this excellent, open-access collection, "Being Human in the Digital World:" www.cambridge.org/core/service... Kudos to expert editors Beate Roessler and Valerie Steeves, as well as fellow authors Julie Cohen, David Lyon, Helen Nissenbaum, & more!
cambridge.org
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REVEL Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence @reveljmce.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Delighted to announce that we are the REVEL Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence @maynoothuniversity.ie. We will be organising a host of activities over the next 3 years on "Realising European Values and European Law" (REVEL). Stay tuned (follow us) for more. www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...
maynoothuniversity.ie
School of Law and Criminology awarded Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence
Maynooth University’s School of Law and Criminology has just opened the new Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, entitled “Realising European Values through European Law” (REVEL). Following a
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Carissa Véliz @carissaveliz.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
It's great to see #PROPHECY gathering friends. Thank you so much for everyone who has pre-ordered. It matters. It gets noticed. It's part of being in the conversation. THANK YOU! #Book www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/759692...
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Maria Helen Murphy @mariamurphy.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Delighted to be a part of this Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence focused on Realising European Values and European Law @maynoothlaw.bsky.social! Excited to lead the work package on digital enforcement! 🇪🇺
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Tobias Lock @tobiaslock.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Delighted to be part of a wonderful team and leading the new @reveljmce.bsky.social. Lots to come in terms of activities (please follow us!) - for now: thanks to our wonderful colleagues @maynoothlaw.bsky.social; @muresearch.bsky.social for their invaluable support!
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Tobias Lock @tobiaslock.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
And a bit shout out to our wonderful team (who will be doing all the substantive work): Dr Derek Barter, Dr Ollie Bartlett; Dr David Mangan; @orlakelleher.bsky.social; @mariamurphy.bsky.social; @hubertsmekal.bsky.social; @oscharles.bsky.social.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
In a similar vein, the Orkney Islands produce an excess of electricity from wind, wave and tide power.
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 30/10/2025
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd... applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome pls share with your networks
aial.ie
Postdoctoral Researcher on GenAI in Public Service
Post Title: Post-Doctoral Researcher, generative AI in public services Post Duration: 24 months Salary Scale: Post-Doctoral Researcher, PD2 Point 1 - 4 (54,850 - 59,654) Location: AI Accountability La...
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The "don't worry about facial recognition tech" arguments are not faring well...
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Andrew Guthrie Ferguson @profferguson.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
denverite.com/2025/10/27/b...
denverite.com
Police used Flock cameras to accuse a Denver woman of package theft. She had her own evidence
"Like I said, nothing gets in or out of the town without us knowing."
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
EU Big Tech law EU Commission - preliminary finding that Meta and TikTok have breached the Digital Services Act ec.europa.eu/commission/p... concerns content moderation appeals, notice of illegal material, researchers' access to data NB not a final decision (possibly with fines) yet
ec.europa.eu
Commission preliminarily finds TikTok and Meta in breach of their transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act
Today, the European Commission preliminarily found both TikTok and Meta in breach of their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
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Kris Shrishak @krisshrishak.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
It was great to be back at the Irish Parliament yesterday at the Joint Committee on AI. Joe O'Brien and I @iccl.bsky.social are grateful for the invitation from the Committee. Video: IHREC at minute 20 and ICCL from 1 hr 40 min. www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachta...
oireachtas.ie
Oireachtas committees video archive
Topic: Artificial Intelligence and The State 
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Tory MP reports deepfake video to police www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Tory MP George Freeman reports deepfake defection video to police
Such political disinformation has the potential to corrupt democracy, says the Mid Norfolk MP.
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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 14/10/2025
Infrastructure x Democracy — what could be more interesting? I'm very excited to be moderating this panel!
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Jessica Shurson @jessicashurson.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
This event looks incredible. Really sad I can’t make it to London that evening. Congrats @nniloideain.bsky.social on the book-it’s next in my to read pile!
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
🚨🚨 #Denmark aims to ban #socialmedia for children under 15. PM Mette Frederiksen says "We have unleashed a monster" to Danish lawmakers. 🧵https://www.politico.eu/article/denmark-mette-frederiksen-partially-ban-social-media-children-under-15/
politico.eu
Denmark aims to ban social media for children under 15, PM says
“We have unleashed a monster,” Mette Frederiksen tells Danish lawmakers.
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Maria Helen Murphy @mariamurphy.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Jane Goodall quotation “"I was somebody sent to this world to try to give people hope in dark times. Because without hope, we fall into apathy and do nothing. And in the dark times that we are living in now, if people don't have hope, we're doomed. How can we bring little children into this dark world we've created and let them be surrounded by people who have given up? So even if this is the end of humanity as we know it, let's fight until the very end.
Let's let the children know that there is hope."
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Danny Deraney @dannyderaney.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
"Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved." "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." Jane Goodall was the best of us.
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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 01/10/2025
"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Rest in power, Dr. Jane Goodall
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D. Earl Stephens @dearlstephens.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
🕊️ The world has lost a revered conservationist -- a colossal power for what is truly good. 🕊️ Jane Goodall is a legend who helped open the door to science to the best humans among us: woman. 🕊️ She was brave, brilliant and introduced us to the best things among us: animals. 🕊️ I grieve her passing.
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Maria Helen Murphy @mariamurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
New article out with Katie Nolan (@katieanolan.bsky.social) and Orla Lynskey in the Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies: 'Digital Empire or Digital Fiefdoms? Institutional Tensions and the EU Right to Data Protection'. Open access at: doi.org/10.1017/cel.... @cambup-law.cambridge.org
Abstract: The EU has been represented as a singular ‘Digital Empire’ speaking with one voice on matters of EU digital
regulation. Closer examination of discrete areas of EU digital regulation reveals a more nuanced picture
suggesting clear institutional divergence between the EU institutions regarding the substantive protection
afforded by EU law. A detailed analysis of EU data protection adequacy decisions brings to the surface
intra-EU tensions concerning the substance of core EU fundamental rights. This analysis reveals that the
EU Commission has taken on a more prominent role in adequacy decision-making since the entry into force
of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation at the expense of other relevant stakeholders. Furthermore,
the Commission’s decisional practice does not align fully with the stance of the Court of Justice on the right
to data protection. New sites of intra-EU human rights tensions are therefore uncovered with consequences
for the legitimacy of the EU as a digital regulator and the role of the Commission as a guardian of the treaties.Keywords: digital regulation; fundamental rights; data protection; institutional balance; judicial review; data adequacy;
EU Commission
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Hobbyhorse: at university, lectures remain an incredible format. They introduce & explore a huge amount of content in a short period of time. They scaffold further reading, with a personal twist. Workshops, etc, do their own thing, but don't replace effective lectures: share.google/AyFxBwYh5BYM...
share.google
To save in-person lectures, unis need to provide lessons worth showing up for
In-person lectures have been a staple of university learning for centuries. But they are going out of style in an age of TED Talks and Tiktoks.
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Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Oh this is BAD. The new TOC from academia dot edu. You grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness…
academia.edu
Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers
Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.
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Alan Greene @alangreene.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Conor Gearty was, without hesitation, the best academic writer I’ve read. He was also a thoroughly decent and kind human being who fearlessly used his position speak truth to power. Conor did law, politics and academia the right way and he will be sorely missed. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
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TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 12/09/2025
Very sad to hear of the untimely death of Conor Gearty, a lovely individual, one of our finest legal academics, and a central figure in promoting human rights worldwide.
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Lukasz Olejnik @lukaszolejnik.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
📣AI propaganda factories🏭 are now operational. My study shows how small, open-weight models can run as fully automatic generators in influence campaigns. mechanising personas, engagement, cadence. Possible for State, non-state, and micro-actors, including and bedroom ones.
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