Fear of Trump's data octopus "They are building a techno-authoritarian surveillance state"

With the help of the controversial software company Palantir, Donald Trump wants to pool the data of several ministries. Experts warn of the possibility of misuse of the data octopus, which is a "technocratic dream".

Donald Trump lays the groundwork on March 20: the president signs a decree to stop "waste, fraud and abuse" by "eliminating information silos".

Specifically, the aim is to consolidate data from various US authorities in order to avoid "bureaucratic duplication and inefficiency" and to better identify irregularities.

Since then, the White House has been quietly working behind the scenes to lay the technical foundations for implementing Trump's plan, writes the New York Times (NYT) - and warns that the government could use the controversial company Palantir to create a data octopus that spies on its own citizens.

Palantir is a software company whose AI platforms can collect, bundle and reprocess data. The company signed a contract with the Department of Homeland Security in April to build a system to track migrants for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for 30 million dollars.

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According to the NYT, Palantir is also said to be in talks with other authorities: the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Palantir software is already in use at the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.

There are also two other ministries, writes the NYT: If the data of several authorities were bundled together, it would amount to an "unprecedented spying machine", the US broadcaster MSNBC marvels. Even some Palantir employees are no longer comfortable with their company.

In an open letter, 13 former employees of the company call on Palantir to end its close cooperation with the White House. The problem is not the software, but what the government could do with it.

"Unethical technology" searches for migrants

"Data that is collected for one reason should not be used for other purposes," Linda Xia, who co-signed the document, told the NYT. "Combining all this data, even with the noblest of intentions, greatly increases the risk of misuse."

The current workforce is also worried, Xia knows: "Current employees are discussing the impact of their work and asking questions internally." The company is now also being targeted by the media.

The Guardian reported on the company back in 2020, which was already helping ICE to search for illegal immigrants and was also cooperating intensively with the police and army: "The company's unethical technology should horrify us," the British newspaper headlined at the time.

Share price rises by 140 percent after Trump's election

Palantir is now also actively working with ICE and "underpins the Trump administration's mass deportations", according to "404 Media". Leaked documents show that the company is playing an increasingly important role in this. The left-wing magazine "Mother Jones" called Palantir the "cheerful profiteer of Trump's police state" back in early February.

This is true, at least in monetary terms, adds the NYT. The company has received at least 130 million dollars from the state since Trump took office. The company's share price has risen by 140 percent since his election victory in November.

And who is behind Palantir? CEO and co-founder Alex Karp donated money to the Democrats last year, but welcomed Donald Trump's election victory. Elon Musk is the "most qualified person in the world" to restructure the government, the NYT quotes him as saying.

"Palantir is here to disrupt"

"We put our company at the service of the West and the United States of America and are super proud of the role we play. Especially in places we can't talk about," "Mother Jones" quotes Karp as saying. "Palantir is here to disrupt. And, if necessary, to frighten and occasionally kill our enemies."

Peter Thiel is also behind Palantir: the multiple billionaire is considered a Trump donor and libertarian activist who is heavily involved in the field of AI. Through Thiel and Palantir, there are many connections to the DOGE efficiency department, which Elon Musk ran until recently.

All of this sets alarm bells ringing for Carole Cadwalladr: The journalist was instrumental in uncovering the Cambridge Analytica scandal. As a reminder, it came to light in 2018 that a British company had illegally tapped into Facebook data in order to target election advertising in 2016.

"This is the technocratic dream"

"I think what's happening in America right now is that they're building a techno-authoritarian surveillance state," says the Englishwoman on the Daily Show. "We can see it in real time. A huge amount of data on every person that can and will be used in opaque and myriad ways. It's terrifying."

Is it just about Palantir getting all the data, moderator Jon Stewart asks? "DOGE is the spearhead here," explains Cadwalladr, adding that Musk's agents had tapped the data in the ministries. "[Palantir], which is owned by Peter Thiel, is now amassing these different pots of data, bringing them together and using AI on the data set."

The problem: "It can be used in so many different ways. It's a control system. That's what other countries do that are authoritarian. And there is no regulation." And there is no data protection law in the USA, the author adds.

John Stewart adds that Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill stipulates that there must be no regulation of AI in the United States for the next ten years. "That's the technocratic dream," says Cadwalladr. "That's what these tech bros want."