Federal police's rejection of Palantir software usage by SPD (Security Police Department)
In a recent report by the "Frankfurter Rundschau", it was revealed that Johannes Schätzl, SPD digital policy spokesman, has rejected the use of Palantir software for German security authorities. His opposition is shared by the Greens and Left parties, who have raised overlapping concerns about the software's potential impact on mass surveillance, data protection, transparency, and digital sovereignty.
Mass Surveillance and Predictive Policing
Critics argue that Palantir's big-data linkage and automated analysis can flag victims, complainants, or bystanders as suspicious without their knowledge, enabling "predictive policing." This practice, they claim, could sweep up innocent people and infringe upon fundamental rights.
Violation of Fundamental Rights and Data Protection
Unrestricted cross-database analysis, as enabled by Palantir, is seen as a threat to rights such as informational self-determination and the confidentiality of communications guaranteed under the German constitution. Civil-liberty groups and the parties argue that such practices violate these fundamental rights.
Lack of Legal Basis and Insufficient Limits
The parties complain that contracts and deployments of Palantir software, even at Länder level, have proceeded without clear, binding legal limits that would restrict when and how the software may be used. This lack of legal basis and insufficient limits is a significant concern.
Opaqueness and Poor Democratic Oversight
Palantir's code and internal processes are closed-source and proprietary, which prevents independent review of how data is processed and decisions are reached. This opaqueness and lack of transparency raise concerns about democratic oversight.
Risk to Digital Sovereignty and Transatlantic Data Exposure
As a U.S. firm, Palantir's data could be transferred, accessed, or influence policy via U.S. channels, creating dependency on a foreign provider. This dependency, the SPD/Greens/Left warn, could compromise German and EU "digital sovereignty."
Political and Ethical Objections
The parties point to Palantir's links to U.S. intelligence/defense customers and politically controversial figures as a reason to reject delegating sensitive security tasks to the firm. Co-founder Peter Thiel, for example, is perceived as an opponent of democratic basic values.
Calls for Regulation, Transparency, or Prohibition
In response to these risks, the SPD, Greens, and Left have pushed for clearer legal limits, parliamentary oversight, stronger data-protection safeguards, or outright bans of Palantir tools in police work.
Marcel Emmerich, interior policy spokesman of the Greens, has urged Dobrindt to promote existing German and European alternatives to Palantir software. Emmerich calls Dobrindt's inactivity in promoting alternatives as irresponsible.
Clara Bünger, interior policy spokeswoman of the Left, warns of a potential privacy breach for millions of people in Germany through the use of Palantir software. She refers to its use as a comprehensive attack on privacy.
Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister of the Interior, has called for a quick decision on the possible nationwide use of Palantir software by the police. However, the debate continues, with the Greens and Left also warning of potential risks and calling for the promotion of European alternatives to Palantir software.
Policy-and-legislation discussions and decisions must consider the potential risks associated with Palantir technology in data-and-cloud-computing, as concerns about mass surveillance, predictive policing, and infringement upon fundamental rights continue to emerge. Technical objections, such as lack of transparency and opaqueness, have been raised, along with ethical concerns regarding the company's links to U.S. intelligence/defense customers and controversial figures. General-news reports call for regulation, transparency, or prohibition of Palantir tools in police work, with some advocating for German and European alternatives to preserve digital sovereignty and safeguard privacy rights.
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