<\/p>\n
The Trump administration<\/span> tapped a surveillance giant with a record of attacking the press to advise the State Department on free speech.<\/p>\n Among the partners for the State Department\u2019s new \u201cFreedom Tech Excellence Program<\/a>\u201d is Palantir, the AI and data integration firm started by right-wing powerbroker Peter Thiel. Under the program, company employees will go on temporary assignments to advise the government on \u201cdigital freedom and freedom of expression,\u201d including counter-surveillance and dealing with First Amendment issues.<\/p>\n \u201cFTEP brings private sector talent to the Department for limited-term assignments to advance diplomatic efforts on key issues including online freedom of expression, privacy-enhancing technologies, countering digital surveillance, and responsible AI governance,\u201d according to the State Department\u2019s website.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither this State Department, nor the partners they have announced so far, are trustworthy leaders in what they identify as online freedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Palantir is best known for building large-scale data analysis platforms. In addition to corporate contracts, the company\u2019s massive<\/a> government tenders include database, surveillance, and tracking tools<\/a> for police and federal authorities. Among its government clients are the military, the State Department<\/a> itself, and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement<\/a>. Palantir and its key personnel have also been involved in multiple lawsuits against journalistic outlets.<\/p>\n The firm\u2019s history has raised criticisms of its role in the new State Department initiative, especially given the Trump administration<\/a> own\u2019s dubious<\/a> track record<\/a> on First Amendment<\/a> issues.<\/p>\n \u201cTo some extent, this announcement and this program sound like doublespeak,\u201d said Carrie DeCell, a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. \u201cCertainly neither this State Department, nor the partners they have announced so far, are trustworthy leaders in what they identify as online freedom of expression or countering digital surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n The new initiative is planned to run through the beginning of 2029, according to the State Department\u2019s press office. While participants could be placed anywhere in the agency and may require security clearances, the Freedom Tech Excellent Program \u201cis not geared towards bolstering\u00a0the Department\u2019s internal\u00a0application or\u00a0operational use of AI technologies,\u201d the department said in a statement to The Intercept.<\/p>\n Anduril<\/a>, a military tech firm with links to Palantir and Thiel, was also listed as a partner in the State Department initiative. Anduril\u2019s executive chair Trae Stephens is a partner at Thiel\u2019s Founders Fund, which has invested about $2.6 billion<\/a> in Anduril. Besides a mutual appreciation<\/a> of \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d Thiel shares similar politics with Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and has backed Luckey\u2019s new bank, Erebor.<\/p>\n Neither Anduril nor Palantir responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Palantir\u2019s work has brought it notoriety across the globe, though at times defining what it does can be complex<\/a>. It has repeatedly eschewed its label as a surveillance firm. Palantir CEO Alex Karp denied<\/a> on a podcast last year that the company engages in unconstitutional surveillance work. <\/p>\n And, in an unsigned blog post<\/a> last year, Palantir wrote, \u201cContrary to some media reports, we are not a surveillance company.\u201d<\/p>\n Palantir, though, enabled U.S. mass surveillance by bolstering the National Security Agency\u2019s global data collection efforts, according to documents provided to The Intercept<\/a> by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Palantir helped the NSA expand a program that became notorious for its ability to hoover up Americans\u2019 communications<\/a> along with those from abroad.<\/p>\n More recently, the firm has become a focal point<\/a> for protests<\/a> in the U.K. over its massive contract<\/a> with the National Health Service and its ties to the Israeli military<\/a>. Just this week, the NHS apologized after admitting<\/a> it had falsely stated that Palantir did not have access to identifiable patient data.<\/p>\n Stateside, the company had a contract with New York City public hospitals that gave it access to patient information. The contract was allowed to expire<\/a> after it came under scrutiny in an Intercept report<\/a>. The Intercept also reported<\/a> this year that Palantir has access to sensitive federal databases for its contract to aid in Internal Revenue Service investigations.<\/p>\n Palantir\u2019s IRS work led to a letter<\/a> last year from 10 members of Congress to Karp requesting information about the \u201cmega-database\u201d built off IRS data. In response, the firm again denied<\/a> that it was engaging in widespread surveillance of Americans and that it was building any such database.<\/p>\n Palantir also has a 15-year relationship with ICE. The Intercept found that its contracts with the agency have aided immigration raids<\/a>, including ones that led to family separations<\/a>. And Palantir built bespoke software for ICE that helps track<\/a> self-deportations and visa overstays.<\/p>\n In April, Reps. Dan Goldman and Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, both Democrats from New York, sent a list of questions<\/a> directed to ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, demanding information about how they were leveraging Palantir\u2019s technology to create \u201ca mass surveillance ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Palantir<\/strong> and the Feds<\/h2>\n