Megan Kirkwood
@megafreda.bsky.social
(she/her) - writing about tech policy, antitrust and competition in digital economies - attempting to leave behind the Zuckerberg apps
https://megan-kirkwood.ghost.io/
https://www.techpolicy.press/author/megan-kirkwood/
https://mastodon.social/@megafreda
https://megan-kirkwood.ghost.io/
https://www.techpolicy.press/author/megan-kirkwood/
https://mastodon.social/@megafreda
"One version of the Lab would offer regulatory relief to individual participants, with large technology companies likely to benefit the most [...]. In an alternative version of the Lab, the sandbox will build shared infrastructure and generate knowledge for the entire regulatory ecosystem."
The UK government consultation on a proposed AI Growth Lab closed recently.
How can this regulatory sandbox contribute to governing AI in the public interest?
Elsa Donnat highlights the key design choices for building UK regulatory capacity for AI.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/regulat...
How can this regulatory sandbox contribute to governing AI in the public interest?
Elsa Donnat highlights the key design choices for building UK regulatory capacity for AI.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/regulat...
Making regulatory sandboxes work for people and society
How can the UK AI Growth Lab contribute to governing AI in the public interest?
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org
January 30, 2026 at 3:02 PM
"One version of the Lab would offer regulatory relief to individual participants, with large technology companies likely to benefit the most [...]. In an alternative version of the Lab, the sandbox will build shared infrastructure and generate knowledge for the entire regulatory ecosystem."
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
New from me: FR#150 – On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
Bluesky's decision to verify ICE's account shows that it not set up well to deal with threats where the presence itself is the harm
connectedplaces.online/reports/fr15...
Bluesky's decision to verify ICE's account shows that it not set up well to deal with threats where the presence itself is the harm
connectedplaces.online/reports/fr15...
FR#150 – On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
Bluesky built a verification system designed to distribute trust, and then didn't use it when it mattered.
connectedplaces.online
January 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
New from me: FR#150 – On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
Bluesky's decision to verify ICE's account shows that it not set up well to deal with threats where the presence itself is the harm
connectedplaces.online/reports/fr15...
Bluesky's decision to verify ICE's account shows that it not set up well to deal with threats where the presence itself is the harm
connectedplaces.online/reports/fr15...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
maaaajor photo of our mayor from @alexkrales.bsky.social in which we learn Mamdani is an iced-coffee-in-winter guy
HUGE win for that community, congrats!!!
(thought it was dunkin, which stopped me in my tracks, but no I don’t think the straw is the right shade of orange)
HUGE win for that community, congrats!!!
(thought it was dunkin, which stopped me in my tracks, but no I don’t think the straw is the right shade of orange)
January 23, 2026 at 7:11 PM
maaaajor photo of our mayor from @alexkrales.bsky.social in which we learn Mamdani is an iced-coffee-in-winter guy
HUGE win for that community, congrats!!!
(thought it was dunkin, which stopped me in my tracks, but no I don’t think the straw is the right shade of orange)
HUGE win for that community, congrats!!!
(thought it was dunkin, which stopped me in my tracks, but no I don’t think the straw is the right shade of orange)
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
Apple Accuses European Commission of 'Political Delay Tactics' Over App Store Changes 😂 www.macrumors.com/2026/01/22/a... TBD soon
Apple Accuses European Commission of 'Political Delay Tactics' Over App Store Changes
Apple claims the European Commission is refusing to let to implement App Store changes, instead using "political delay tactics" to levy unfair investigations and fines. Apple provided the statement to...
www.macrumors.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Apple Accuses European Commission of 'Political Delay Tactics' Over App Store Changes 😂 www.macrumors.com/2026/01/22/a... TBD soon
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
“We’re living in a time where it seems like it’s a less secure international order.”
“At which point you kind of have to think, well, can we trust that these systems are always going to be there and always be something we can rely on?”
🗣️ ORG’s James Baker on the need for UK #DigitalSovereignty.
“At which point you kind of have to think, well, can we trust that these systems are always going to be there and always be something we can rely on?”
🗣️ ORG’s James Baker on the need for UK #DigitalSovereignty.
For decades, rather than prioritising domestic investment in its technology sector, the UK has largely opted for the easier route: relying on US technology
We take a look at how dangerous this is now, in a special report on national security 👇
Read here: www.thenational.scot/news/2...
We take a look at how dangerous this is now, in a special report on national security 👇
Read here: www.thenational.scot/news/2...
January 23, 2026 at 11:32 AM
“We’re living in a time where it seems like it’s a less secure international order.”
“At which point you kind of have to think, well, can we trust that these systems are always going to be there and always be something we can rely on?”
🗣️ ORG’s James Baker on the need for UK #DigitalSovereignty.
“At which point you kind of have to think, well, can we trust that these systems are always going to be there and always be something we can rely on?”
🗣️ ORG’s James Baker on the need for UK #DigitalSovereignty.
"To pop the bubble, we have to hammer on the forces that created the bubble" ...
AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
AI is asbestos in the walls of our tech society, stuffed there by monopolists run amok. A serious fight against it must strike at its roots
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:26 PM
"To pop the bubble, we have to hammer on the forces that created the bubble" ...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
ActivityPub is getting its first formal update path since 2018. I wrote about why this matters, how this leads to some strange and funny power dynamics, and about who actually participate
connectedplaces.online/reports/fedi...
connectedplaces.online/reports/fedi...
Fediverse Report – #148 – On Protocol Governance
On the complexities of protocol governance.
connectedplaces.online
January 16, 2026 at 4:34 PM
ActivityPub is getting its first formal update path since 2018. I wrote about why this matters, how this leads to some strange and funny power dynamics, and about who actually participate
connectedplaces.online/reports/fedi...
connectedplaces.online/reports/fedi...
Continued defanging of the FTC... www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Trump Nominates Company Chief and Republican Donor, David MacNeil, to F.T.C.
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Continued defanging of the FTC... www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
This can't go on 🚨
Musk and his AI indecency engine shows we must shift power away from Big Tech.
Unless we regulate AI, break monopolies with competition and push for #DigitalSovereignty, the UK could be forever locked in a techno-permacrisis.
Read more ⬇️
www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/techno-...
Musk and his AI indecency engine shows we must shift power away from Big Tech.
Unless we regulate AI, break monopolies with competition and push for #DigitalSovereignty, the UK could be forever locked in a techno-permacrisis.
Read more ⬇️
www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/techno-...
Techno-Permacrisis
Musk’s latest venture, image generation in Grok that until Wednesday lacked any guardrails to prevent the production of child abuse images and non-consensual sexual images, provoked an Ofcom…
www.openrightsgroup.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:15 AM
This can't go on 🚨
Musk and his AI indecency engine shows we must shift power away from Big Tech.
Unless we regulate AI, break monopolies with competition and push for #DigitalSovereignty, the UK could be forever locked in a techno-permacrisis.
Read more ⬇️
www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/techno-...
Musk and his AI indecency engine shows we must shift power away from Big Tech.
Unless we regulate AI, break monopolies with competition and push for #DigitalSovereignty, the UK could be forever locked in a techno-permacrisis.
Read more ⬇️
www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/techno-...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
Hi Bluesky! We're Modal Foundation, a new nonprofit dedicated to making open social tech viable at scale. We grew out of the @freeourfeeds.com campaign and support @eurosky.social. Our work will connect experts, strategists, builders and communities to create a human-centered internet.
January 12, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Hi Bluesky! We're Modal Foundation, a new nonprofit dedicated to making open social tech viable at scale. We grew out of the @freeourfeeds.com campaign and support @eurosky.social. Our work will connect experts, strategists, builders and communities to create a human-centered internet.
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has attacked X's decision to make its controversial AI image generation feature only available to users with paid subscriptions.
UK slams ‘insulting’ X move to paywall deepfake tool
The prime minister said far from solving the problem of nonconsensual deepfakes, X’s decision turned the issue into a “premium service.”
www.politico.eu
January 9, 2026 at 12:46 PM
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has attacked X's decision to make its controversial AI image generation feature only available to users with paid subscriptions.
"Continuing use of the platform lends X a credibility it no longer merits. [...] I strongly urge the Government to reconsider its use of it." - Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee
WEC Chair writes to Minister and Ofcom over NCII on X - Committees - UK Parliament
Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) Chair and Labour MP Sarah Owen has written to Paymaster General and Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds as well as Ofcom on the subject of non-consensual i...
committees.parliament.uk
January 9, 2026 at 12:47 PM
"Continuing use of the platform lends X a credibility it no longer merits. [...] I strongly urge the Government to reconsider its use of it." - Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee
"...others have warned that the MoD’s reliance on Palantir risks becoming a strategic vulnerability for the U.K. — and flies in the face of the government’s promise to boost the U.K.’s “sovereign capabilities” in AI and other key technologies."
Palantir lands biggest ever UK defense deal
The £240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence has renewed a debate about Britain’s dependence on American technology.
www.politico.eu
January 6, 2026 at 11:14 AM
"...others have warned that the MoD’s reliance on Palantir risks becoming a strategic vulnerability for the U.K. — and flies in the face of the government’s promise to boost the U.K.’s “sovereign capabilities” in AI and other key technologies."
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
The EU enters 2026 with a considerable batch of investigations using both traditional competition law and the newer Digital Markets Act, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood. But will all of this activity result in material changes?
Reviewing European Antitrust Activity in 2025 and What It All Means for 2026 | TechPolicy.Press
The EU enters 2026 with a considerable batch of investigations using both traditional competition law and the newer Digital Markets Act, writes Megan Kirkwood.
buff.ly
January 5, 2026 at 4:54 PM
The EU enters 2026 with a considerable batch of investigations using both traditional competition law and the newer Digital Markets Act, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood. But will all of this activity result in material changes?
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers the antitrust scrutiny Nvidia has recently attracted, and how those efforts, which have largely stalled, are now potentially jeopardized by the ambitions of various countries to build out AI infrastructure and get ahead in the so-called “AI race.”
Nvidia is Building a Shield of Concentrated Power | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood presents the final part of a three part analysis of Nvidia’s rise to dominance in the AI market.
buff.ly
December 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers the antitrust scrutiny Nvidia has recently attracted, and how those efforts, which have largely stalled, are now potentially jeopardized by the ambitions of various countries to build out AI infrastructure and get ahead in the so-called “AI race.”
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
An analysis of X posts from the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology suggests it is overwhelmingly pro-AI.
I analysed the sentiment of every X post from DSIT that mentioned "AI" this year. Of 122 posts, 110 were positive about AI, and only 7 mentioned its downsides.
🧵 1/2
I analysed the sentiment of every X post from DSIT that mentioned "AI" this year. Of 122 posts, 110 were positive about AI, and only 7 mentioned its downsides.
🧵 1/2
December 19, 2025 at 9:40 AM
An analysis of X posts from the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology suggests it is overwhelmingly pro-AI.
I analysed the sentiment of every X post from DSIT that mentioned "AI" this year. Of 122 posts, 110 were positive about AI, and only 7 mentioned its downsides.
🧵 1/2
I analysed the sentiment of every X post from DSIT that mentioned "AI" this year. Of 122 posts, 110 were positive about AI, and only 7 mentioned its downsides.
🧵 1/2
"The Irish case has seen a consistent pattern: tech-sector growth is treated as inevitable, while climate obligations are accommodated around it. Managing the strained infrastructure comes at the cost of rising emissions and deferred decarbonization" algorithmwatch.org/en/ireland-d...
What Ireland’s Data Center Crisis Means for the EU’s AI Sovereignty Plans - AlgorithmWatch
Ireland is now home to one of the highest concentrations of data centers in the world. What began as a quiet build-out of server farms around Dublin has expanded into an industrial presence with an ec...
algorithmwatch.org
December 19, 2025 at 11:17 AM
"The Irish case has seen a consistent pattern: tech-sector growth is treated as inevitable, while climate obligations are accommodated around it. Managing the strained infrastructure comes at the cost of rising emissions and deferred decarbonization" algorithmwatch.org/en/ireland-d...
Layla Moran, health select committee chair: “The only thing more surprising than Trump’s tween-level temper tantrums is the UK government’s naive belief that his administration is a good faith actor." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
MPs warn that UK agreements with Donald Trump are ‘built on sand’
Exclusive: Health select committee chair says UK government’s ‘naive belief’ Trump is a good faith actor ‘could cost UK taxpayer billions’
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Layla Moran, health select committee chair: “The only thing more surprising than Trump’s tween-level temper tantrums is the UK government’s naive belief that his administration is a good faith actor." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
In the second in her series on Nvidia, Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers how the company is both vertically integrating while expanding its relationships across a wide range of industries and pursuing partnerships with governments around the world in a bid to maintain its dominance.
Considering Nvidia’s Partnerships Push in Bid for Dominance | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood presents the second in a series of three posts on Nvidia’s rise to dominance in the AI industry.
www.techpolicy.press
December 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
In the second in her series on Nvidia, Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers how the company is both vertically integrating while expanding its relationships across a wide range of industries and pursuing partnerships with governments around the world in a bid to maintain its dominance.
The second of my three-part deep dive into Nvidia has dropped! This installment looks at how the company is both vertically integrating while expanding its relationships across a wide range of industries and pursuing partnerships with governments around the world in a bid to maintain its dominance.
Considering Nvidia’s Partnerships Push in Bid for Dominance | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood presents the second in a series of three posts on Nvidia’s rise to dominance in the AI industry.
www.techpolicy.press
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
The second of my three-part deep dive into Nvidia has dropped! This installment looks at how the company is both vertically integrating while expanding its relationships across a wide range of industries and pursuing partnerships with governments around the world in a bid to maintain its dominance.
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
Tech sovereignty isn’t about swapping US hyperscalers for local monopolies, writes David Eaves. That just recreates dependency. Real agency comes from interoperability, de facto standards, and procurement that makes switching cloud providers simple, says Eaves.
The Path to a Sovereign Tech Stack is Via a Commodified Tech Stack | TechPolicy.Press
Strategic standardization of cloud infrastructure backed by procurement power and market forces is the right way to tame the hyperscalers, writes David Eaves.
buff.ly
December 15, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Tech sovereignty isn’t about swapping US hyperscalers for local monopolies, writes David Eaves. That just recreates dependency. Real agency comes from interoperability, de facto standards, and procurement that makes switching cloud providers simple, says Eaves.
"British officials on Monday confirmed the US suspended the deal last week, with one saying the Trump administration was pushing for UK concessions in areas of trade outside the tech partnership."
US suspends technology deal with the UK
Washington pushes for concessions from London on the broader trade relationship
giftarticle.ft.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
"British officials on Monday confirmed the US suspended the deal last week, with one saying the Trump administration was pushing for UK concessions in areas of trade outside the tech partnership."
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
🚨 THE BATTLE BEGINS 🚨
Your favorite year-end contest is back. It’s time to choose who will be this year’s Worst Person In Tech for 2025!
Each day of this week new matchups will drop until we choose the winner on Friday.
🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/worst-person...
Your favorite year-end contest is back. It’s time to choose who will be this year’s Worst Person In Tech for 2025!
Each day of this week new matchups will drop until we choose the winner on Friday.
🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/worst-person...
December 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM
🚨 THE BATTLE BEGINS 🚨
Your favorite year-end contest is back. It’s time to choose who will be this year’s Worst Person In Tech for 2025!
Each day of this week new matchups will drop until we choose the winner on Friday.
🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/worst-person...
Your favorite year-end contest is back. It’s time to choose who will be this year’s Worst Person In Tech for 2025!
Each day of this week new matchups will drop until we choose the winner on Friday.
🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/worst-person...
Reposted by Megan Kirkwood
This has popped up on my feed again so your occasional reminder that, if your business cannot turn a profit when acting within the law, you don’t have a legitimate business
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
December 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
This has popped up on my feed again so your occasional reminder that, if your business cannot turn a profit when acting within the law, you don’t have a legitimate business