Palantir once more in sights of civil libertarians over NHS Covid data store
The award of a new government contract to data analytics provider Palantir on the back of its involvement in the NHS Covid-19 information store has actually provoked Open Democracy into legal action, backed up by an exposure of lobbying activity that pre-dates the pandemic
Media organisations Open Democracy and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have actually acted in unison to put in question the NHS and the UK state’s broader negotiations with data mining business Palantir.
The Palo Alto-based company was co-founded by leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel in2003 And although its co-founder and CEO, Alex Karp, is a self-described socialist, the company’s client base in the CIA and the FBI has actually made it questionable among civil libertarians.
In March 2020, the NHS verified it was dealing with Palantir, Microsoft and Google to enhance its data analytics efforts and make its battle versus the Covid-19 coronavirus more effective and effective. From that work emerged the NHS Covid-19 Data Shop
NHS England’s web page on the store explains it like this: “The NHS Covid-19 Data Shop rests on a Microsoft Azure platform under contract with NHS England and NHS Improvement. Within that safe cloud processing environment, Palantir (acting under guideline from NHS England) handle their platform which is called Foundry.
” Palantir have actually constructed analytical control panels for gain access to by NHS England and Improvement staff, together with staff in the following organisations working under agreement: Faculty AI, McKinsey and Deloitte. Information which is pseudonymised is only offered to staff working under agreement with the organisations running jointly under the NHSX banner. Palantir does not save the data itself, which stays under the control of the NHS.”
While it was reported, in March 2020, that NHSX and NHS England’s technical groups had built a back-end information store on Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, to “bring several data sources into a single, safe location”, it was Palantir Technologies UK that would offer the software application, Palantir Foundry, that makes up the front-end data platform. Palantir Foundry is said to make it possible for disparate data to be cleansed and integrated.
” We’re taking the federal government to court since, right prior to Christmas, they silently provided CIA-backed company [Palantir] a major, long-lasting role in handling our individual health details, and in England’s cherished National Health Service”. Open Democracy
On The Other Hand, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has released an associated story detailing lobbying by Palantir amongst senior NHS executives that pre-dates the coronavirus crisis and reaches back into 2019.
The Open Democracy organisation said, in a statement explaining why it is taking legal action against the federal government: “We’re taking the government to court due to the fact that, right before Christmas, they silently offered this CIA-backed company a major, long-term role in handling our personal health info, and in England’s valued National Health Service.”
On The Other Hand, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has actually exposed that Palantir’s UK boss, Louis Mosley, hosted a dinner participated in by David Prior, chair of NHS England, on 2 July 2019.
As reported by the BBC, the legal case, which is being managed by law office Foxglove on behalf of its client Open Democracy, switches on whether a fresh Data Protection Effect Evaluation is needed for the new contract.
” The government should not use the pandemic as a reason to embed major tech firms like Palantir in the NHS without speaking with the general public, Foxglove director Cori Crider told the BBC.
” The datastore is the biggest swimming pool of patient information in UK history. It’s something to set it up on an emergency situation basis, it’s a various another tune to provide a tech firm like Palantir a long-term function in NHS facilities.”
Sky News pointed out an NHS representative as saying: “The business is a recognized provider to the UK public sector. The NHS finished a Data Protection Effect Evaluation in April 2020, and an upgrade will be released in due course.”
Palantir is not discussing the story.
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