Palantir again in sights of civil libertarians over NHS Covid data store
The award of a new government contract to data analytics supplier Palantir on the back of its participation in the NHS Covid-19 data shop has provoked Open Democracy into legal action, backed up by a direct exposure of lobbying activity that pre-dates the pandemic
Media organisations Open Democracy and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have acted in unison to put in concern the NHS and the UK state’s wider dealings with information mining company Palantir.
The Palo Alto-based company was co-founded by leading Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel in2003 And although its co-founder and CEO, Alex Karp, is a self-described socialist, the business’s customer base in the CIA and the FBI has actually made it questionable among civil libertarians.
In March 2020, the NHS confirmed it was dealing with Palantir, Microsoft and Google to enhance its information analytics efforts and make its battle versus the Covid-19 coronavirus more effective and effective. From that work emerged the NHS Covid-19 Data Shop
NHS England’s websites on the store describes it like this: “The NHS Covid-19 Data Shop sits on a Microsoft Azure platform under contract with NHS England and NHS Improvement. Within that protected cloud processing environment, Palantir (acting under guideline from NHS England) manage their platform which is called Foundry.
” Palantir have constructed analytical dashboards for gain access to by NHS England and Enhancement personnel, together with personnel in the following organisations working under agreement: Faculty AI, McKinsey and Deloitte. Data which is pseudonymised is only readily available to staff working under agreement with the organisations operating jointly under the NHSX banner. Palantir does not keep the data itself, which remains under the control of the NHS.”
While it was reported, in March 2020, that NHSX and NHS England’s technical groups had actually constructed a back-end information store on Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, to “bring multiple information sources into a single, safe and secure area”, it was Palantir Technologies UK that would supply the software application, Palantir Foundry, that makes up the front-end data platform. Palantir Foundry is stated to allow diverse information to be cleaned and incorporated.
” We’re taking the federal government to court due to the fact that, right before Christmas, they quietly provided CIA-backed firm [Palantir] a major, long-lasting function in handling our personal health information, and in England’s valued National Health Service”. Open Democracy
Open Democracy has now initiated legal procedures against the UK federal government for extending the “emergency” and essentially pro bono (a nominal cost of ₤ 1) agreement struck with Palantir at the height of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On The Other Hand, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has released a related story detailing lobbying by Palantir amongst senior NHS executives that pre-dates the coronavirus crisis and reaches back into 2019.
The Open Democracy organisation stated, in a statement explaining why it is suing the federal government: “We’re taking the federal government to court since, right prior to Christmas, they silently provided this CIA-backed firm a major, long-term role in handling our individual health details, and in England’s valued National Health Service.”
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has exposed that Palantir’s UK manager, Louis Mosley, hosted a supper participated in by David Prior, chair of NHS England, on 2 July 2019.
As reported by the BBC, the legal case, which is being managed by law office Foxglove on behalf of its customer Open Democracy, switches on whether a fresh Data Security Effect Assessment is required for the brand-new contract.
” The government should not utilize the pandemic as a reason to embed significant tech companies like Palantir in the NHS without seeking advice from the public, Foxglove director Cori Crider told the BBC.
” The datastore is the biggest pool of patient data in UK history. It’s one thing to set it up on an emergency basis, it’s a different kettle of fish to give a tech company like Palantir a permanent function in NHS facilities.”
Sky News pointed out an NHS representative as saying: “The company is an accredited provider to the UK public sector. The NHS completed a Data Defense Effect Evaluation in April 2020, and an update will be published in due course.”
Palantir is not discussing the story.
Material Continues Below
Read more on Expert system, automation and robotics
No comments:
Post a Comment