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From mass surveillance to forays into fashion, Palantir is firmly in the public consciousness. But what do they actually do? And how does it impact you?
We take a look at how an AI data company (that does not identify as a data company) has its hands in military occupations, surveillance technology and in our local supermarkets, and how we can take action against it.
Palantir is a Silicon Valley company that pioneered mass data analytics using AI, with hundreds of corporate and government clients across 90 countries.
This includes partnering with big Australian supermarket Coles, allegedly helping the Israel military identify and bomb Gaza aid workers, and helping the US Government round up people in Trump’s immigration crackdown. Palantir also recruited an ex-Labor MP to lobby to contract to the Australian Defence Force.
Recent reporting from Michael West Media indicates that Palantir has also been lobbying the Australian Government regarding control of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
At the heart of the controversies surrounding Palantir, is its enabling of mass surveillance.
Its software handles classified and sensitive government data, combined with proprietary algorithms that can claim to identify patterns in highly fragmented, unstructured information that competitors struggle to process to yield useful insights.
Amnesty International criticised Palantir for expanding government surveillance of US citizens. The Trump Government used Palantir’s “ImmigrationOS” software to centralise and integrate previously disparate surveillance tools that combine social media monitoring, visa tracking and automated threat assessment to target people as part of its crackdown against migrants and protestors against Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
Palantir was also identified by the UN as a company profiting from Israel’s war and occupation of Palestine, possibly through offering predictive policing and real-time battlefield decision-making.
In addition to its questionable practices, its founders have some…unusual backgrounds. They include mega-rich conspiracy theorist and Epstein confidant, Peter Thiel, who asked if Greta Thunberg is the Anti-Christ and CEO, Alex Karp, wrote a manifesto summarised as the “ramblings of a supervillain” including calling some cultures “dysfunctional and regressive” and defended people who “snigger” at billionaires like Elon Musk.
Well, the military industrial complex knows culture matters and tries to mute cultural backlashes like Big Tech workers protesting their company’s complicity in human rights violations. That’s probably why Palantir launched their menswear ‘chore coat’ (for the small price of $239). As Dazed observed – they need to associate themselves with “taste” because their business leaves a bad taste in most peoples’ mouths. This is part of fascist playbook of giving you the illusion of choice while stripping away rights.
Palantir identified Australia as a growth market, and Coles is the first Australian retail company to use its software in a 3 year deal announced in 2024. It says it’ll use this for shift allocation, "team engagement" scoring and workforce optimisation - algorithmic management of labor.
Combined with Coles’ other security measures like security gates, Coles is building security and surveillance infrastructure that increasingly influences their customers' shopping habits and employees’ jobs.
So if you’re not comfortable with a company like Palantir helping monitor your weekly shop then find out how you can help below.
The next few months are a crucial time for shareholders and the broader community to encourage Coles to re-consider this problematic partnership and send a message to corporate Australia that we won’t let it roll out mass surveillance.
SIX and GetUp are working together to build shareholder power in the lead up to Coles’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November 2026.
Read more here to learn more about the campaign and get involved!
Start your journey in ethical investing and make a positive impact as a shareholder.
