Palantir, a data analytics firm founded by Peter Thiel, is building a master list of personal information on Americans that could give Trump immense surveillance power.
An executive order signed in March called for the federal government to share data across various agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services Department, the Social Security Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service.
DOGEbag Elon Musk pushed for Palantir to be the chief vendor of the project, which has already received $113 million since Trump took office.
The New York Times report stated, “The Trump administration has already sought access to hundreds of data points on citizens and others through government databases, including their bank account numbers, the amount of their student debt, their medical claims and any disability status.”
“Some current and former Palantir employees have been unnerved by the work,” the report added. “The company risks becoming the face of Mr. Trump’s political agenda, four employees said, and 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 with Mr. Trump and not the firm.”
Various advocates and organizations have challenged the efforts in court, and 13 former employees signed a letter urging Palantir to end its work for Trump, saying that combining that private data poses a significant risk of misuse.
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