Billionaire Peter Thiel’s Palantir is given access to UK health data on Covid-19 patients
- Palantir has access to data that range from contact information to details of gender, race and work, and physical and mental health conditions
- The tech firm got its start working for the US Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, interpreting battlefield intelligence in Afghanistan and Iraq
Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) allowed secretive US technology company Palantir Technologies access to sensitive personal data of patients, employees and members of the public under a deal to help it cope with the Covid-19 outbreak.
The data ranged from contact information to details of gender, race and work, and physical and mental health conditions, according to a copy of the contract struck in March and published on Friday by politics website OpenDemocracy and law firm Foxglove. It also included details of political and religious affiliation and past criminal offences.
Faculty, a London-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm, is also working on the NHS’s coronavirus response and secured access to sensitive data.
Under the Palantir agreement, names or other personal identifiers are replaced with a pseudonym or aggregated before being shared with the companies. Sensitive personal information such as race and political affiliation would only be provided to Palantir where such access is “lawful and critical in the performance of its obligations”, according to the contract terms.
A representative for Palantir did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
