Democrats Demand Palantir Provide Details On Trump Administration’s Mega-Database Of Americans’ Information

Democratic lawmakers are demanding that tech company Palantir provide Congress with additional details about its contracts with the federal government amid reports that the company is using its technology to develop a database on American citizens by sharing data across federal agencies.

Palantir has received over $113 million in federal government spending since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, collaborating with federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to compile personal information on American citizens with its technology.

Democrats have condemned Trump’s expansion of the data company’s role within the federal government in a letter to CEO Alex Karp, claiming Palantir “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.”

“The unprecedented possibility of a searchable, ‘mega-database’ of tax returns and other data that will potentially be shared with or accessed by other federal agencies is a surveillance nightmare that raises a host of legal concerns, not least that it will make it significantly easier for Donald Trump’s Administration to spy on and target his growing list of enemies and other Americans,” read the letter.

The letter was signed by a group of eight Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York).

One of the main concerns addressed within the letter pertains to the company’s violations of the Internal Revenue Code and the Privacy Act of 1974. The Internal Revenue Code states tax returns can only be accessed for limited purposes, while the Privacy Act restricts the sharing of information across government agencies.

Palantir, which is part-owned by Trump major donor Peter Thiel, has asserted that its technology is not being used for the exploitation of private information, nor is it building a mega-database on Americans.

“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. We are committed to America, regardless of which party the American people have voted into office. This should be obvious given our continuous work with the government for nearly 20 years,” said the company in an official statement.

In March, Trump signed an executive order that required federal agencies to share data, with White House officials claiming it was an effort to “eliminate information silos and streamline data collection across all agencies to increase government efficiency and save hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”