Immoral companies like Palantir should have no place in the NHS

by Graham Wroe

A letter to the Sheffield Star

Julia Armstrong reports in the Star (2.1.26) that a local doctor, Rory Gibson, objected at the Council’s Health Scrutiny sub-committee concerning a £330 million contract that was awarded to Palantir Technologies to develop a “federated data platform” for the NHS. Local NHS Trusts have the option to opt into this, and campaigners want South Yorkshire NHS Trusts to refuse to do so.  Julia reported that the company has been criticised by Amnesty International and the UN for complicity in human rights abuses, including the Genocide in Gaza. It is worth examining this closely. 

In a calculated strike, three World Central Kitchen aid vehicles—fully approved and clearly marked—were targeted. Seven aid workers, there to feed those facing state-enforced starvation, were killed. The accuracy was undeniable: missiles were placed directly through the agency’s rooftop logos.

Israel dismissed this as a “mistake.” Yet, this is a pattern of “mistakes” that claimed the lives of over 540 aid workers—a death toll higher than all other global conflicts combined over the last 30 years.

These horrors aren’t happening in a vacuum. They are powered by the most advanced AI targeting hardware and software on the planet, much of it supplied by the Denver-based firm Palantir Technologies.

The company openly posts “We stand with Israel” on social media, but the reality of that support is data mining for death. As a company with deep roots in the CIA, Palantir provides the intelligence infrastructure used by the Israeli military.

It is a dark irony to claim “technical error” when using the world’s most sophisticated precision software. Palantir’s tech is designed for one thing: finding and hitting targets with absolute certainty. The precision that killed seven aid workers wasn’t a glitch in the system. It was the system working exactly as Palantir designed it. 

I don’t want this company to have access to my health records. Private companies should not play any part in the NHS, but companies like Palanitar, which are immoral, should certainly not be given NHS contracts. Green Councillor Toby Mallinson is right to demand that the Council objects to it. 

Graham Wroe

Medact have organised a meeting about this. https://www.medact.org/event/no-palantir-in-the-nhs-south-yorkshire-public-meeting/

Here is Rory’s question in full

My question is in relation to the rollout of the federated data platform, also known as FDP, across trusts and the ICB in South Yorkshire. The inclusion of the FDP within local data infrastructure plays a key role within South Yorkshire’s ICB’s data, and insight strategy and technologies associated with the FDP are already in use by certain trusts. The contract for the development and rollout of the FDP was awarded to Palantir Technologies via fairly untransparent means. Palantir has been criticised by the UN and Amnesty International for allegedly being complicit in human rights abuses, including the genocide in Gaza and oppressive surveillance in the US and Europe. Palantir’s involvement in the FTP threatens patient data privacy and the deepening of health inequities, patient trust in health data systems, and the ongoing privatisation and asset stripping of the NHS. The BMA opposes the rollout of the FDP due to Palantir’s involvement. Its adoption is not mandated by NHS England. How does the committee intend to evaluate the ethical considerations of inclusion of the FDP within local health data policy, and does the committee oppose the FDP rollout within South Yorkshire, considering the aforementioned information?

The broadcast of the meeting is here (scroll to 2:50)