Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

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.

Faculty spokeswoman Holly Searle said the company had asked for its contract to be amended to make clear it will derive no commercial benefit from any software developed during the course of the project “and that the use of the intellectual property is under the sole control of the NHS”.

“This project is helping us tackle coronavirus, by helping track information about where demand is rising and where critical equipment needs to be deployed, and strict data protection rules apply to everyone involved in helping in this important task,” a representative from NHSX, a government unit that sets national policy for NHS technology and data, said in an emailed statement.

“The companies involved do not control the data and are not permitted to use or share it for their own purposes, with any intellectual property owned by the NHS and contracts strengthened following review as appropriate.”

Palantir, co-founded by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, makes software that mines troves of personal data and looks for patterns.

The company got its start working for the US Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, interpreting battlefield intelligence in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as helping to flag suspicious behaviour patterns to stop terrorist attacks at home.

It moved on to banks, helping bosses watch for suspicious behaviour or signs that employees were disgruntled. The FBI and police have used Palantir in criminal investigations. Its work has drawn scrutiny from privacy advocates in the US.

Technology giants Microsoft Corp, Amazon Web Services and Google are also involved in the deal with the NHS. The companies are tasked with building a data platform to help understand how Covid-19 is spreading across the country and the capacity of its health care system to deal with it. The project was envisioned as a way to assess occupancy levels at hospitals, capacity in emergency rooms and statistics on how long patients are being kept in hospital.

The NHS is using Palantir’s Foundry product, which is targeted at businesses and government institutions. The health body has previously disclosed dozens of data sets that will go into a Palantir data store, ranging from ventilator orders and epidemiological data to details such as the categories of people working in adult social care.

The company must destroy or return the data to the NHS at the end of its contract, and only certain members of the Palantir team who have been authorised by the NHS will get access to it, according to a health service impact assessment that was also published Friday.

Faculty is run by Marc Warner, whose brother Ben Warner, a data scientist, worked with the Vote Leave Brexit campaign and has attended meetings of a scientific advisory group to guide the government on its coronavirus response strategy, The Guardian newspaper has reported.

Faculty’s contract will use data from the health care system to model the spread of Covid-19 and its impact on resources. The start-up will help design an NHS AI lab, develop frameworks for the adoption of AI technology, improve data analytics and help to create a national chest X-ray database.

The company agreed not to store any data except those it needs to fulfil the contract, and sensitive information will also be modified to remove identifiers.




AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×