Don’t take it lying down
You’re only paranoid if they’re not out to get you (The New York Times):
In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies, raising questions over whether he might compile a master list of personal information on Americans that could give him untold surveillance power.
Mr. Trump has not publicly talked about the effort since. But behind the scenes, officials have quietly put technological building blocks into place to enable his plan. In particular, they have turned to one company: Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm.
The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work across the federal government in recent months. The company has received more than $113 million in federal government spending since Mr. Trump took office, according to public records, including additional funds from existing contracts as well as new contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. (This does not include a $795 million contract that the Department of Defense awarded the company last week, which has not been spent.)
[…]
The push has put a key Palantir product called Foundry into at least four federal agencies, including D.H.S. and the Health and Human Services Department. Widely adopting Foundry, which organizes and analyzes data, paves the way for Mr. Trump to easily merge information from different agencies, the government officials said.
Now, let’s acknowledge that His Doofusness has no idea how to utilize this kind or volume of information. He just likes the idea of people having the impression that he does. It makes his mushroom tingle.
Ja’han Jones writes:
Palantir is one of several private companies that have capitalized on Trump’s authoritarian ambitions. The company has been tapped as a key player in Trump’s mass deportation plans, and earlier this year, Palantir CEO Alex Karp gave investors a pretty grim summary of what the company’s full slate of work for the Trump administration could entail.
As the outlet Mother Jones reported:
‘I’m very happy to have you along for the journey,’ the CEO said. ‘We are crushing it. We are dedicating our company to the service of the West and the United States of America, and we’re super-proud of the role we play, especially in places we can’t talk about.’ ‘Palantir is here to disrupt,’ he continued. ‘And, when it’s necessary, to scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them.’ (Palantir did not respond to a request for comment.)
Needless to say, putting American data in the hands of a company whose CEO boasts about his company’s capacity to kill and intimidate doesn’t inspire confidence that the data will be handled responsibly.
The Financial Times reacts to the reporting:
The stock market liked what it saw. Palantir shares jumped 5.38% after the announcement and are now trading over 150% higher compared to post-election 2024 levels. But behind the stock surge, there’s a deeper story about privacy, AI surveillance, and what it means when one tech firm gets the keys to America’s data.
What exactly is Palantir building for the U.S. government?
Palantir isn’t just improving old databases—it’s building what some experts are calling the most expansive civilian surveillance infrastructure in U.S. history. Instead of scattered files and spreadsheets, the platform will use real-time data integration and artificial intelligence to profile behavior, detect fraud, and identify individuals or patterns deemed risky by the system.
At the core of the project is Palantir’s Gotham software. Already used by defense and intelligence agencies, Gotham will now be used on the domestic front. It doesn’t just track information—it makes judgments. It could influence everything from how benefits are distributed to who gets flagged for closer scrutiny by law enforcement or immigration officers.
Listen, you can be at the table or on the menu. Get off your couch. Be at the table.
If only it was a joke.
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