Welcome to this week’s Intelligence Brief… On Wednesday, a new bombshell report revealed concerns among government officials and tech industry experts about efforts to compile data on American citizens, marked by a significant expansion of tech company Palantir’s involvement in government work. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) why government officials and tech experts are sounding the alarm about Palantir’s work in the federal government, 2) a controversial executive order that could pave the way toward overreaches in government data collection, 3) internal dissent within Palantir, and 4) responses to the concerning claims of the tech company’s expanding role in government.
Quote of the Week
“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy… when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues…”
– Carl Sagan
RECENT NEWS from The Debrief
Palantir and the Collection of Data on Americans
This week, new concerns have arisen over the expansion of government data collection. The efforts, reportedly involving a tech firm co-founded by a longtime ally of President Trump, have resulted in a growing backlash among the administration’s supporters.
The allegations, revealed by The New York Times on Wednesday, center around the enigmatic tech company Palantir, co-founded by entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, whose interests range from UFOs to cryptocurrency, NFTs, and, of course, politics. The company has reportedly been contracted to assist in building a centralized database that will contain sensitive personal information on American citizens.
Responses from civil liberties advocates, as well as members of the President’s own political base, have likened the secretive efforts to those used by authoritarian regimes, with many expressing outrage over the potential misuse of such information in the suppression of dissent, political targeting, immigration enforcement, and a range of other areas.
Executive Order and Surveillance Fears
Concerns over such potential misuse intensified earlier this year, following a March executive order signed by Trump that instructed federal agencies to “eliminate information silos” to aid the consolidation of data sharing.
“Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure Federal officials designated by the President or Agency Heads (or their designees) have full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, data, software systems, and information technology systems,” a portion of the executive order read, “for purposes of pursuing Administration priorities related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.”
While framed as an efficiency measure primarily aimed at “intra- and inter-agency sharing and consolidation of unclassified agency records,” critics of the order see it as a potential pathway toward an eventual centralized surveillance infrastructure. Digital rights groups and privacy-focused advocacy organizations have warned that collecting and consolidating government data at such scales is a major breach of public trust and an overreach of federal power that many voters, especially those in Trump’s conservative base, would oppose.
Palantir’s Expanding Federal Role
Foundry, one of Palantir’s primary data analytics platforms, has reportedly already been integrated within several federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to government officials and Palantir employees who spoke to the Times on background with knowledge of the situation.
Some of those individuals expressed concerns that federal agencies’ ongoing use of Foundry could facilitate the merging of their datasets in the future. The tech company is reportedly already in discussions with agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service about the potential use of Palantir’s technology for organizing their data.
To date, Palantir has reportedly received more than $113 million in federal contracts, not including a more recent $795 million award from the Department of Defense cited by the Times.
“The Scouring of the Shire”
Even within Palantir, dissent appears to be growing. Last month, a letter penned by 13 former Palantir employees charged that the company’s leadership “has abandoned its founding ideas,” warning that the company has increasingly engaged in divisive and controversial behavior that even includes threatening its critics.
Citing a range of imminent threats that include biometric data collection on immigrants, defunding of science initiatives, targeting of journalists, and abandonment of U.S. allies, the letter’s authors say that “Trump’s administration has sought to greatly expand executive powers while alluding to monarchy.”
Concerns have also been raised about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the executive branch entity managing the database effort. At least three DOGE members previously worked for Palantir, and others have ties to Thiel-backed ventures. Employees familiar with DOGE described lax security practices, including improper handling of personal devices.
“By supporting Trump’s administration, Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, and dangerous expansions of executive power, [Palantir’s executives] have abandoned their responsibility and are in violation of Palantir’s Code of Conduct,” the letter’s authors state.
Corporate and Government Responses
Palantir has so far declined to comment directly on the controversy, although company representatives have pointed to its policy of acting as a mere “data processor” falling under the control of its client organizations. The White House has also refrained from comment, with inquiries referred to the March executive order and its purported focus on cost-saving and efficiency.
Palantir’s technology has already been used by the U.S. federal government for some time, including during the Biden administration as a tool for managing vaccine distribution logistics. However, the company’s deepening alignment with recent White House data strategies under the current administration points to concerning possibilities.
“Big Tech, including Palantir, is increasingly complicit, normalizing authoritarianism under the guise of a ‘revolution’ led by oligarchs,” the former Palantir employees wrote in the letter they published last month.
“We must resist this trend,” its authors wrote.
That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.
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Original article: https://thedebrief.org/tech-firm-palantirs-government-work-on-data-collection-sparks-new-privacy-fears/
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