More than 200,000 people have called on UK ministers to break contracts with Palantir, reflecting a surge of public concern over the US tech company's involvement in the NHS, police, military, and local councils.
Petitions and Public Pressure
Two petitions have amassed 229,000 signatures. One demands the government end all public contracts with Palantir, whose software is used by Donald Trump's ICE agency and the Israeli military. The other urges Health Secretary Wes Streeting to cancel a £330 million patient data contract with the NHS.
This week, the Guardian revealed the Metropolitan Police is in talks to use Palantir's AI for analyzing sensitive intelligence. Additionally, Palantir published a manifesto described by one MP as the "ramblings of a supervillain."
Pushback from Palantir
The company is pushing back against campaigns by Green Party leader Zack Polanski and legal campaigner Jolyon Maugham, who launched a podcast investigating Palantir. The Liberal Democrats also call for the NHS contract cancellation and a halt on new contracts.
Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, said: "Almost a quarter of a million people have said loud and clear: they don't want a company like Palantir, whose technology is used by ICE and the Israeli army, to have access to their most sensitive data." He added: "The government need to act fast and trigger the break clause on these lucrative contracts now."
Extensive UK Contracts
Palantir holds £600 million in contracts with UK public bodies. Talks continue with Scotland Yard to use its AI for automating intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. If confirmed, this would significantly expand Palantir's role in UK law enforcement. The company also has a £240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence and renewed a £750,000 contract with Coventry City Council. It has deals with Bedfordshire and Leicestershire police, among others.
PR Battle and Inaccuracies
Palantir's UK CEO, Louis Mosley, has rebutted criticism using internet memes in a public PR fight. Maugham described the Good Law Project's podcast as investigating "what happens when you take an antichrist-obsessed billionaire and a company named after an evil seeing stone in The Lord of the Rings and you put them at the heart of the NHS." Mosley responded with a meme from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, suggesting critics engage in conspiracy theories.
Polanski launched an online video that incorrectly claimed Peter Thiel is Palantir's CEO and called it a spyware company. Mosley called this "technically defamatory" but said Palantir would not sue. Thiel, a Trump-supporting billionaire, is Palantir's co-founder.
"We have a chance to get this dangerous company out of our NHS and all of our public services," Polanski said. "Ministers must listen to the public and end this appalling contract now."
Palantir says its software helps increase NHS operations, reduces cancer diagnosis time, keeps Royal Navy ships at sea longer, and protects women and children from domestic violence.
