Democrats Press Palantir for Contract Details Over Privacy, IRS Access Concerns
A group of Democratic lawmakers is demanding answers from Palantir (PLTR, Financials) over its federal contracts, warning the company may be assisting the Trump administration in creating a government-wide database that could include sensitive taxpayer information.
The inquiry comes after The New York Times reported that Palantir is in talks with multiple federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration, to expand use of its Foundry data platform.
In a letter released Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and six other lawmakers wrote that the company is enabling and profiting from serious violations of Federal law by the Trump Administration, which is amassing troves of data on Americans to create a government-wide, searchable mega-database' containing the sensitive taxpayer data of American citizens.
They added, This potential mega-database' at the IRS and elsewhere also raises myriad potential violations of privacy laws designed to strictly limit those who can access the tax return records of individuals and businesses.
The letter cited provisions in the Internal Revenue Code and the Privacy Act of 1974, which restrict how personal and tax data may be used or shared across agencies.
Palantir has strongly denied the allegations. In a statement, the company said, Palantir is not building a master database. Palantir is neither conducting nor enabling mass surveillance of American citizens. No amount of parroting of this false accusation will make it true.
In a follow-up letter shared publicly, Palantir wrote, Palantir's software is built at every stage to uphold, not undermine, legal and regulatory protections as well as the ethics and standards that help institutions govern the appropriate uses of powerful technologies.
The company also objected to how the story was reported, stating, We object very strongly to The New York Times, or anyone, portraying technology and privacy as opposing forces; we believe that, done well, they reinforce each other.
Despite the company's denial, lawmakers are requesting that Palantir disclose a full list of its federal contracts, whether it has sought liability protections, and if it maintains any internal red lines for terminating service to the government in cases of legal or human rights violations.
Palantir has not publicly confirmed whether it will comply with the request.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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