UK Public Pressure Mounts Over Palantir’s Government Contracts

More than 200,000 people have signed petitions urging the UK government to sever ties with Palantir, the American data analytics firm whose tools are used by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israeli military. The backlash centers on Palantir’s growing footprint across British public institutions—including a £330 million NHS patient data deal, a £240 million Ministry of Defence contract, and recent talks with the Metropolitan Police to deploy AI for intelligence analysis.

Campaigners, led by Green Party co-leader Zack Polanski and legal activist Jolyon Maugham, argue that a company with such controversial clients should not hold sensitive UK citizen data. In response, Palantir’s UK chief executive Louis Mosley has taken to social media with memes and sharp retorts, calling some claims “technically defamatory” but declining to sue. The company defends its record, pointing to faster cancer diagnoses, increased NHS surgeries, and domestic violence protections enabled by its software. With £600 million in active UK contracts and more under negotiation, the debate is far from settled.

Source: The Guardian