In particular, they have turned to one company: #Palantir, the #data analysis & #technology firm.
#Trump expanded Palantir’s work across the #FederalGovernment in recent months. The company has received >$113M in federal govt spending since Trump took office, acc/to public records, including additional funds from existing contracts as well as new contracts w/ #DHS & the #Pentagon. (Not including a $795M contract that the Dept of #Defense awarded the company last wk…)
Reps of #Palantir are also speaking to at least 2 other agencies—#SocialSecurity [#SSA] & the #IRA — about buying its technology, acc/to 6 govt ofcls & Palantir employees w/knowledge of the discussions.
The push has put a key #Palantir product called Foundry into at least 4 federal agencies, including #DHS & #HHS. Widely adopting Foundry, which organizes & analyzes #data, paves the way for #Trump to easily merge #information from different agencies, govt ofcls said.
Creating detailed portraits of Americans based on government #data is not just a pipe dream. The #Trump admin has already sought access to hundreds of data points on citizens & others through government databases, including their #bank account numbers, the amount of their #StudentDebt their #medical claims & any #disability status.
#law #privacy #InfoSec #NationalSecurity #surveillance #Palantir #AbuseOfPower
#Trump could potentially use such #information to advance his political agenda by policing #immigrants & punishing #critics, Democratic lawmakers & critics have said. #Privacy advocates, #student #unions & #labor rights organizations have filed lawsuits to block data #access, questioning whether the government could #weaponize people’s personal information.
#law #InfoSec #NationalSecurity #surveillance #Palantir #AbuseOfPower
#Palantir’s selection as a chief vendor for the project was driven by #ElonMusk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to the government ofcls. At least 3 #DOGE members formerly worked at Palantir, while 2 others had worked at companies funded by #PeterThiel, an investor & a founder of Palantir.
#law #privacy #InfoSec #NationalSecurity #surveillance #Trump #AbuseOfPower
Some current & former #Palantir employees have been unnerved by the work. The company risks becoming the face of #Trump’s political agenda, 4 employees said, & could be vulnerable if #data on Americans is breached or hacked. Several tried to distance the company from the efforts, saying any decisions about a merged database of personal #information rest w/Trump & not the firm.
#law #privacy #InfoSec #NationalSecurity #surveillance #AbuseOfPower
Edited 57d ago
This month, 13 fmr employees signed a letter urging #Palantir to stop its endeavors w/ #Trump. Linda Xia, a signee who was a Palantir engineer until last year, said the problem was not w/the company’s #tech but w/how the Trump admin intended to use it.
“#Data that is collected for one reason should not be repurposed for other uses,” Xia said. “Combining all that data, even with the noblest of intentions, significantly increases the risk of misuse.”