European unions urge governments to scrap all Palantir deals

A coalition of trade unions and civil society organisations is demanding that European governments and institutions terminate all contracts with Palantir.

Palantir has long been a controversial company, with co-founder Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp publicly voicing their views on political matters.

Applications of the company’s technologies also actively raise concerns, with its clients including police forces, militaries, and immigration authorities.

On Monday, groups from 30 countries and across the European level argued in an open letter that there should be no place for Palantir in a “democratic Europe”.

The letter highlighted the company’s provision of technology to US immigration authorities and Karp’s strong support for Israel, which faces a genocide case before the International Court of Justice.

The organisations also warned that Europe’s heavy dependence on a single US company poses a risk to its sovereignty:

“The company’s proximity to Trump’s American nationalist administration makes this dependence irrational, as the president has demonstrated a great willingness to weaponise US economic and trade relations.”

The letter calls on governments and institutions to terminate all existing contracts with Palantir, bar the company from future contracts, and develop alternative solutions.

They are also urging investors, such as pension funds, to divest from their Palantir shares.

Palantir has built relationships with many European governments over the years. For example, French security services signed a contract following the 2015 Paris attacks.

Other governments turned to the company’s specialised solutions for the healthcare sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, while NATO approved Palantir’s military software for its own use this summer.

Nevertheless, in recent times, political disputes and anxieties surrounding Europe’s technological reliance on the US appear to have begun affecting Karp’s firm as well.

Numerous European companies, from Britain’s Quantexa to Ireland’s Siren and Octostar, are competing to position themselves as independent rivals to Palantir.

This month, French technology giant Thales also unveiled an alternative to Palantir’s military software.

French security services are likewise preparing to replace Palantir by opting for local competitor Chapsvision, the strongest European rival to emerge so far in the civilian domain.

Silvano Sansoni, CEO of the Paris-based firm of more than 1,000 employees, recently spoke to Euractiv about expansion efforts into Germany, where regional governments are actively debating their existing ties with the US giant.

In recent months, Palantir has also faced criticism over the amount of tax it pays in Europe.