Numerous UK police forces are now using Palantir technology for surveillance and tracking. The far-right genocide-linked tech firm has been capturing UK public bodies at pace – and shows no signs of slowing down. The new Good Law Project and Computer Weekly investigation claims:
that these projects involve, “tracking, monitoring or surveillance”, as well as data on “racial or ethnic origin, political opinions” and even people’s “sex life”.
As the Canary has repeatedly warned, Palantir’s close relations with the Labour government have assured the firm’s foothold in Britain:
The UK military is currently locked into a multi-billion pound contract with Palantir. The statement makes no mention of Palantir, despite the genocide-linked firm’s role being the source of most controversy.
The UK military, police, NHS and, allegedly, the Telegraph have started using Palantir technology. The firm maintains a permanent desk in southern Israel, and is deeply involved inIsrael’s genocide in Gaza, as well as Trump’s paramilitary immigration operations, ICE, whose officers use the firm’s gear.
And it doesn’t end there:
On 2 June, the Canary reported that UK officials have even been using Palantir software to decide what Palantir technology to buy to fight future wars. On 4 June, we also heard how former spy chief David Omand had been promoting the idea that integrating AI into warfare is somehow be ethical.
During the same week, we reported that Palantir had won a contract to manage UK firearms, explosives, and related stockpiles.
The Good Law Project, a legal NGO, reported on 13 August:
six police forces have processed data with Palantir software, spending £7.8m since 2023.
County forces in Lancashire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and others have all been implicated. But the problem is even deeper than that:
According to a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) seen by Good Law Project and Computer Weekly, one of the data sources integrated into Bedfordshire’s Palantir project is Athena – a data sharing system which covers nine forces: Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Warwickshire, and West Mercia police.
The NGO added:
The DPIA declares that data “recorded on existing platforms like Athena” will be used to “populate content in applications developed on the Foundry platform”.
Foundry is Palantir’s data integration platform. It unifies data from many sources so the user can wield that data for their own ends.
Tracking and surveillance via Palantir
The DPIA also declared:
the project processes personal data “on a large scale” and will “involve tracking, monitoring or surveillance of individuals in areas accessible to the public”.
It will include a wide range of sensitive data, including “racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health data, data relating to a person’s sex life, data relating to a person’s sexual orientation, and criminal convictions or offences”.
The negative implications for civil liberties, especially in a period of spiralling state repression in the UK, are clear.
Good Law’s tech lead Duncan McCann said:
Palantir’s systems depend on bringing together vast quantities of data and unless great care is taken in cleaning that data, biases which put people at risk are baked in
Gathering different datasets into one place paves the way for authoritarian surveillance and control.
The steady match of Palantir through British public bodies is worrying indeed. And Labour’s brazen collusion is unforgivable. In a moment already shaped by increased state surveillance and crackdowns on basic rights, it is essential we expose and oppose this firm’s presence in Britain.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
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