This action pack contains the key information from the ‘Concerns Regarding Palantir Technologies and NHS Data Systems’ briefing (read the full version on the Medact website) and a guide to how you can use it to organise in your local area.
Action Pack Contents
Briefing summary
“Palantir is here to disrupt, and, when it’s necessary, to scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them.”
— Alex Karp, Palantir CEO (2025)
Palantir is a US-based data analytics firm specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and software commonly used by states in surveillance, border enforcement, policing and warfare. Palantir’s Federated Data Platform (FDP) aims to sit across NHS Trusts, ICBs and NHS England in order to connect and analyse pre-existing data on a national and local scale.
The briefing has been prepared for NHS Trust Boards, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), Health Scrutiny Committees, and Health Data Governance Committees to outline key concerns of the authors and endorsers regarding the involvement of Palantir Technologies in NHS data infrastructure and operations, including via their delivery of the FDP. It is intended to inform and empower Trust decision making about engagement with Palantir. At the time of writing, the FDP is not mandatory, and local health bodies are able to both raise concerns and decline to implement the FDP at the local level. It is the view of the authors and endorsers that there are many more suitable options for data management solutions for Trusts and ICBs.
NHS England can also choose not to extend the national contract with Palantir beyond the initial 3-year contract. The contract’s review is upcoming in early 2027 at which point it could be terminated. In 2021, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care terminated a data deal regarding adult social care with Palantir following criticism, and the concerns regarding Palantir’s presence in public services have only grown since then.
This report covers multiple concerns, with a focus on human rights, public trust, data privacy, and institutional risk. It is divided into three sections: 1) Allegations of Palantir’s complicity in human rights abuses and other unethical practices; 2) The background to the FDP’s procurement and Palantir’s wider UK strategy; and 3) Specific risks to Trusts and ICBs of adopting Palantir’s FDP.
The report recommends that Trusts and ICBs urgently:
- Decline the implementation of FDP products in their local data systems
- Write to NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care outlining their reasons for declining
- Urge NHS England to terminate its contract with Palantir Technologies
- Communicate clearly to their staff and patients that they will not implement the FDP
- Scrutinise their current contractors to identify potential human rights abuses and review appropriately
- Investigate the feasibility of in-house and/or open-source software as a first priority for data solutions.
Key points from the webinar
To bring the briefing to life, we held a webinar with speakers with expertise from within Palantir itself to other areas including human rights, law, the NHS and community organising.
Below is the full webinar recording, a summary of each speaker’s key points, and time-stamps of the recording which we recommend you watch and reflect on as a group. We have also provided some extra suggestions of what to consider when hosting a screening and discussion.
Juan Sebastian Pinto, Palantir whistleblower
Key clip timestamp: 14:44 – 17:13 (explaining how Palantir’s software works)
- Current narratives about AI are dominated by tech companies so we need to reclaim the narrative and educate ourselves in order to challenge these systems
- Palantir’s business strategy is to sell their products at a free or very low cost, automate as many processes as possible, and then scale their costs exponentially as organisations become more dependent on them
- As more decisions get automated and generative AI is added on top of these tools, accountability becomes increasingly difficult
- Palantir’s products combine data from different sources to make decisions and map relationships between things
- The analysed data is then used to simulate events and automate actions and processes
- This process can be weaponised by the state to encode and enforce ideologically-based executive orders – e.g. Trump mandating only 2 gender categories which marginalises those who are gender non-conforming
Hajira Maryam, Amnesty International’s Lead Advisor on Strategic Communications and Artificial Intelligence
Key clip timestamp: 30:29 – 31:30 (Amnesty’s research on Palantir’s ImmigrationOS system)
- Amnesty has published multiple reports in the past few years which highlight how Palantir’s products further automate an already deeply flawed and unaccountable process that further reinforces and obscures human rights violations in the America
- Racial profiling is a key feature of how Palantir’s systems operate as they encode systemic biases that disproportionately penalise migrants
- An example is ImmigrationOS which is being used by ICE to disproportionately surveil, target and detain migrants, asylum seekers, and students protesting against the ongoing genocide in Gaza
- Amnesty International is now calling on states and public institutions to completely and responsibly divest from Palantir
Health Workers for a Free Palestine (HW4FP) organiser
Key clip timestamp: 39:16 – 42:47 (debunking NHSE’s claims about the success of the FDP)
- It is important to scrutinise claims made by Palantir and NHS England and who is making them, especially given the revolving door of staff across organisations
- The contract undermines existing digital capability within the NHS – not only do NHS England staff have no control over Palantir’s underlying code, the very people who have the skills to build in-house open-source alternatives are facing massive job cuts
- HW4FP’s research and NHSE whistleblowers show that the FDP is not going as well as NHSE publicly claims
- In the current context of state expansion of policing and surveillance powers, we need to be aware of the risk of increased cross-department government data-sharing in the future (e.g. Reform’s proposal to create an ICE-style deportation agency)
- We must refute CEO Alex Karp’s claim that the data in the FDP “belongs to the UK government” because it should belong to patients and the public
Wayne Farah, former NHS non-executive director and BME Leadership Network facilitator at the NHS Confederation, who resigned over Palantir
Key clip timestamp: 50:53 – 54:57 (explaining the risks of NHS privatisation and why technology is never ‘neutral’)
- Hannah Arendt’s concept of the ‘banality of evil’ warns of the danger of obedience in bureaucratic systems, especially those which cause harm
- The privatisation of the NHS harms the most marginalised, such as racialised and migrant communities (e.g. during the Windrush scandal when NHS shared data with the Home Office, staff were complicit in the hostile environment by continuing to just “do their job”)
- Technology is not neutral, it encodes the values and power structures of those who build it and Palantir’s ideology are at odds with the values of a democratic national health service
- Structural racism is built into systems as it defines the data going in, which fuels the predictions that then drive the practice
- We need to challenge NHS trusts and ICBs in their public board meetings to justify their collaboration with Palantir, particularly non-executives who are supposed to represent the public’s interests
Duncan McCann, Good Law Project’s Head of Tech and Data
Key clip timestamp: 1:00:25 – 1:03:54 (clarifying NHS data opt-outs)
- The NHS has absolute rights over data being directly used for care being given to you so you can’t opt out in that scenario, but in theory you can opt out of data being used for secondary purposes such as research and planning
- Existing opt-out mechanisms give people a sense control, but fail to meet legal obligations and it is difficult to understand what you can actually opt out of
- We can’t hold on to assurances that our data will be safe given that the government recently U-turned on their promise not to use our GP health record data collected during COVID
- Whistleblowers from the Ministry of Defence who use Palantir tools say that even though Palantir can’t directly access the data, they can still find out sensitive information (e.g. the location of nuclear submarines)
- Palantir is constantly using the data they process to improve their own products which they can then roll out to their other clients, many of whom are known human rights violators
Venue requirements for a screening
To host a screening for your local group, or for members of the public with the intention of getting them to join the local campaign, you will need to think about a few things. Firstly, you will need a venue with facilities to project a video, either via the internet or from a USB (if you download the webinar from the internet before), and a laptop or other device. Then you just need people and seats…and maybe some snacks, drinks and leaflets for people to take home.
Remember to let people know how they can join the local group or get in touch again.
Suggested talking points
- After watching this webinar did anything surprise you? How are you feeling?
- Who are Palantir and what are they doing in the NHS – group discussion to fill people in on the basics. What do we not know that we need to know?
- What stage is the FDP at in our local trust or ICB? Check here.
- After each section you can discuss as a group what NHS body, individual or local organisation or MP might be moved by this part of the argument against Palantir. E.g. Duncan McCann speaks about the lack of a FDP data Opt Out, data rights and the legal side of things – would this move certain people at your local trust, ICB or council more than the human rights argument? Wayne Farah speaks about embedding systematically racist technology into our institutions and how this goes against the underpinning values of the NHS – what committee or network in your Trust or ICB, or local community organisation, might be interested in meeting your group from this angle.
- How are we going to make the argument to those we need to move/convince in a way that shows them that they care about this?
- How can we use this information locally when we are speaking to people? And what push back or responses should we prepare for?
- What one action will you pledge to take after watching this today? If you need support with ideas, forming a local group, or building a strategy as your existing local group, please get in touch [email protected].
How to use the briefing for local organising
Who to target with the briefing
As a group, think about who holds the decision-making power regarding NHS technology and digital adoption in your local area and who can influence these decisions. You may already be targeting them as part of your local campaign, so you can use the briefing to strategically engage with them. You may also want to map these individuals or organisations along an axis of whether they are allies, neutral, or opponents to the campaign goals. This can help you identify strategic coalitions to build and priority targets to focus on.
Below is a list of possible NHS or other local actors to target:
- Local politicians, including MPs – some MPs have already written to their local NHS bodies urging them not to adopt the FDP.
- NHS managers, including Trust Boards – each hospital considering adopting the FDP will have various layers of governance, each with different people involved in that decision. Particularly important people include CEOs and information governance leads. You may be able to attend some public or staff meetings of the Trust Boards.
- NHS Freedom to Speak Up Guardians (FTSU) – many NHS bodies will have an independent FTSU appointed to offer staff, employed by the organisation, an alternative to a manger to speak to about a work issue. Details on how to access these arrangements are often available on the staff intranet or can be searched for on the
national website. - Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) – There are 42 ICBs in England (find yours here), each in the process of setting up their own instance of the FDP, who are targets for campaigning. They run regular ICB meetings where members of the public can attend and ask questions related to the agenda. The boards are made up of members of various local bodies and so may contain individual targets for lobbying, such as the head of a charity or coordinator of the local NHS Race Equality or Diversity & Inclusion Network. You can access their meeting dates, venues and agendas online.
Councils, especially Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees (HOSC) – these local authority committees are made up of local councillors, and have the power to summon ICB and Trust leaders. You can map your local council to see who is an ally, and who is on the HOSC. The Department of Health and Social Care have published HOSC principles
here. - Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) – these exist in each local area and are connected to your ICB. Attendees are multi-professional so mapping membership may lead you to finding potential allies, or access to the ICB.
- Unions – One of the most important ways in which we can exercise our power as workers and push to get the contract cancelled is through collective action. Being part of a union facilitates this. Unions force management to reckon with workers’ demands and prevent individual silencing. For NHS workers there are several unions that will be active in your workplace. E.g. BMA, UNISON, Unite, RCN, BDA, CSP, BAOT. If you are not in a union it’s a good idea to join one. You can find out who your union representative is and ask them for a meeting. If your union doesn’t already have policy (created via passing motions) on Palantir, get in touch and we can send you previous union motion templates to help you write one to submit to your union branch.
- Making cross-union links within your workplace is really important; when our workplaces are made up of numerous unions, a united front is far more effective. Try and foster links with various union reps across your workplace, support each others’ actions and bring up the Palantir contract as an issue that all health workers should oppose.
Taking action with the briefing: Local hackathons
A hackathon is a Do-It-Yourself action meeting, either in person or online. Get several members of your local group together and send the briefing to selected strategic local targets. You could also invite allied local groups to build relationships and add pressure to your target.
This action is best used as a stepping stone to get to the next stage of effecting local change related to campaign demands. Think about why you are doing this, how you are going to take advantage of engaging targets, and what you will do afterwards depending on the different potential outcomes. It is also a great way to engage people who want to do stuff, but don’t feel confident suggesting actions.
You will need: A laptop, or smart phone, and to channel your inner detective.
What to do? First step is to figure out who you want to contact, why and how. Then find your local targets next public meetings (if there are any) and email addresses.
Activity ideas:
- Map your local council, assign people to write to each local councillor about the briefing, ask them to put it on the council agenda or take it to HOSC.
- Map your local unions, assign people to different unions e.g. BMA or Unite, find out how your local reps are, send them the briefing, ask to meet with them about it and ask them to bring it up in their union meetings with the hospital.
- Mass send formal complaints to the hospital or ICB. You might want to pair this with a local NHS staff and/or patient petition, and some public questions sent to the ICB for the next public meeting, to add pressure.
- Map all the upcoming public and staff meetings for NHS bodies, ask to submit questions, attend or speak about the briefing. You could order physical copies of the briefing to hand out.
- Think about what local organisations or groups may have influence at the local council or NHS level, e.g. local patient groups, Healthwatch or other voluntary sector organisations.
- Contact local news outlets or reporters asking them to write about the local context of the national No Palantir in the NHS campaign. Some smaller outlets might want you to draft an article for them, whereas others may want a press release.
- If you need help finding any of this information please get in touch with the No Palantir in the NHS campaign Research Working Group and we can help! Your local group lead should have a national chat that they can ask for support in.
Amplify and use existing online tools to help you
- Send a (pre-written) letter to your trust to stop the rollout (Good Law Project)
- Track the latest status of the FDP rollout at your trust or ICB
Keeping your solidarity secure
We encourage using Signal to communicate within your local group as it is an end-to-end encrypted message platform meaning that bad actors (such as Palantir!) won’t be able to spy on what you’re planning.
- Read this zine for general digital security advice and tips
- Expressing Solidarity with Palestine: A Guide for Healthcare Workers – by Global Health BDS for Palestine and supported by British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA).
