Protesters demand ‘No Palantir in our NHS’ as Amnesty steps up campaign against tech giant

On October 8, Amnesty International’s Day of Action against US technology company Palantir, demonstrations took place across the UK calling for an end to the firm’s involvement in the NHS amid concerns over patient data, surveillance and its human rights record.

Palantir specialises in data-analysis software used by governments, intelligence agencies and militaries for purposes including surveillance and intelligence gathering. Its work with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Israeli military has attracted criticism from human rights organisations and campaigners.

In 2023, Palantir secured a £330 million contract to provide its data platform to NHS England. The deal has prompted concerns about the security and handling of sensitive patient information, as well as the appropriateness of awarding a major public sector contract to a company whose international activities have proved controversial.

The campaign comes ahead of the contract’s renewal, scheduled for February 2027. Amnesty International UK is urging NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) to refuse to use Palantir’s technology.

As well as being linked to ICE, which uses its technology to help track migrants, in January 2024, the company signed a contract with the Israeli military to use its technology in support of what it described as “war-related missions.” Amnesty has highlighted these relationships as part of its campaign against the company’s involvement in public services.

Palantir was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, who also co-founded PayPal. The company’s presence in the UK expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it secured government contracts involving health data.

Thiel has previously criticised the NHS. Speaking in January 2023, he said: “Highways create traffic jams, welfare creates poverty, schools make people dumb and the NHS makes people sick.”

Addressing the Oxford Union debating society, he also compared the British public’s affection for the health service to “Stockholm syndrome,” the term for hostages who feel a bond with their captors.

Opposition to Palantir’s NHS role has also been voiced in Parliament.

In June, the cross-party House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee called on the government to terminate NHS England’s contract with the company, citing its support for “highly controversial policies and activities.”

Concerns have also been raised about the levels of access Palantir staff may have to identifiable patient data. More than 44,000 formal legal objections have reportedly been submitted by patients.

Campaigners argue that the NHS should retain control over sensitive health information and that the company’s involvement raises questions about data protection, transparency and public accountability.

One of the demonstrations on October 8 took place outside Whittington Hospital in north London.

Andy Bain, president of Islington Trade Unions Council, and Shirley Franklin of the Defend the Whittington Hospital Coalition, part of the protest’s organising team, raised concerns about the potential consequences of linking health data with other public sector systems.

“We want the NHS to be in charge of our data. Palantir’s linking up with the police and social services, and all sorts of things – what’s going to happen with the data? It’s very worrying,” they said.

Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, also attended the demonstration. He said the dispute was ultimately about who controls the health service and its information.

“It’s all about public control. Are we, the public, going to control our NHS or are we going to hand it over to somebody else? I know the answer I want – which is us,” he said.

Amnesty International UK has launched its ‘No Palantir in our NHS’ campaign, calling on the government to end the company’s involvement in the health service.

The organisation argues that Palantir’s work with the Israeli military and ICE makes its role in the NHS incompatible with the health service’s public responsibilities.

“Palantir is a US software company whose tools are currently used by the Israeli military as they commit genocide against Palestinians in occupied Gaza,” Amnesty states.

It adds: “A company profiting from such grave human rights abuses should have no role in our health system or wider public sector. Amnesty’s message is clear – No Palantir in our NHS.”

Amnesty is urging supporters to sign a letter to health secretary Yvette Cooper calling for Palantir’s removal from the NHS. The campaign also encourages NHS trusts and integrated care boards to refuse to adopt its technology.

With the contract due for renewal in February 2027, the campaign is seeking to increase pressure on the government to reconsider its relationship with the company.