While you were doomscrolling, the government handed Palantir $50 million of your tax money to build AI systems that track ‘complete target analysis of known populations.’ Not just for migrants at the border – this technology could potentially analyze and track any group of people deemed worthy of government interest.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just renewed its contract with Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies, the data analytics company whose name literally comes from the all-seeing crystal ball in Lord of the Rings. This massive government surveillance technology purchase represents more than just another tech contract – it signals a troubling expansion of digital monitoring capabilities with minimal public oversight.
When National Security Becomes National Purpose
Government surveillance technologies can serve legitimate purposes. The Freedom Online Coalition acknowledges that surveillance tech can protect national security and public safety when used responsibly and consistently with international law.
However, a growing number of governments are deploying these same tools to restrict information access and fundamental freedoms. The vague language in Palantir’s contract – analyzing ‘known populations’ – blurs the line between legitimate security operations and potential overreach.
This escalation happens against a backdrop where the U.S. State Department itself has published guiding principles on government surveillance use, acknowledging both legitimate needs and potential for abuse.
Your Digital Identity Has Become Everyone’s Business
The true fascist rhetoric emerges when surveillance becomes normalized rather than exceptional. Palantir’s technology doesn’t just track individual targets – it analyzes entire population groups, looking for patterns and connections invisible to human analysts.
What makes this particularly concerning is how companies like Anduril (Palantir’s sister company) and Clearview AI are expanding the surveillance ecosystem. Their technologies don’t operate in isolation but form a network of identification subversives that could potentially track citizens across multiple datasets.
As algorithms increasingly reshape democracy, these tools shift from protecting America to potentially monitoring Americans themselves. When Captain America becomes the Winter Soldier, it’s time to question what we’re funding.
The Tech Industry Decadence Driving Digital Authoritarianism
Silicon Valley’s pompous rhetoric about innovation often masks the real-world applications of its technology. Peter Thiel, founder of Palantir, has made no secret of his interest in systems that dominate information landscapes and identify patterns of behavior. This technology isn’t neutral – it’s designed with specific monitoring capabilities that extend far beyond basic law enforcement needs.
During the previous administration, similar technology enabled the tracking and arrest of unidentified individuals through advanced pattern recognition. These capabilities represent a massive expansion of government power, operating largely outside public view or comprehensive oversight.
When South African entrepreneur Thiel puts his right hand on speaker house technology to develop identification systems, we should question who defines ‘normal’ behavior in these automated systems. Particularly concerning is how these technologies may disproportionately impact marginalized communities, potentially creating a self-reinforcing system of surveillance and control.
Everybody Has a Choice
The key issue isn’t whether surveillance technologies should exist – it’s about balance, transparency, and accountability. Training government officials involved in surveillance systems is critical, as emphasized in the Freedom Online Coalition’s principles.
Citizens have the choice to continue speaking out and protesting these systems, or shutting up like good citizens in an emerging digital dictatorship. The global proliferation of commercial surveillance technologies, including spyware, poses grave threats to human rights and national security alike.
The numbers tell their own story. When the government first began releasing surveillance statistics after the Snowden revelations in 2013, it reported having 89,138 targets. By 2021, that number had exploded to 232,432 individuals, groups, and organizations under some form of monitoring.
As Palantir’s contract renewal demonstrates, we’re funding increasingly sophisticated tools that blur the boundary between protecting democracy and undermining it. The question isn’t whether we need security – it’s whether security has become an excuse for something far more intrusive.