Last Friday, the New York Times released a report detailing the Trump administration’s partnership with Palantir, which could result in the establishment of a thorough database containing information on every American. The Times stated that such a “master list” would provide the president with considerable surveillance authority.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order enabling the federal government to share information about Americans among various U.S. agencies. New information has surfaced regarding how the administration intends to put this into action.
Trump has engaged the tech company Palantir, co-founded by Trump and Republican benefactor Peter Thiel, to carry out these initiatives. The New York Times noted that Palantir’s technology might gather sensitive data from agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Internal Revenue Service. Current government databases already contain information regarding Americans’ bank account numbers, medical claims, disabilities, student debt amounts, and more, but they are not organized in a central repository.
The Trump administration asserts that its goal is to “eliminate information silos and streamline data collection across all agencies to enhance government effectiveness and save taxpayer money.” However, the prospect of a central database raises alarms among privacy advocates and has even triggered concerns among former Palantir staff.
What is Palantir?
In recent years, Palantir has emerged as a prominent data and analytics firm. While it services corporate clients, its most notable and controversial endeavors have been with the federal government, especially the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, as well as foreign governments.
Palantir was established in the early 2000s by billionaire Peter Thiel, alongside Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, and Alex Karp, who currently leads the company as CEO. Thiel chose the name for the company based on the crystal balls featured in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Who is Peter Thiel?
Peter Thiel is arguably the most well-known among the founders. As a co-founder of PayPal, Thiel is a private figure in Silicon Valley and a conservative “kingmaker.” He removed Elon Musk, another co-founder, from his position at PayPal and took over as CEO in 2000. In 2004, Thiel became the inaugural outside investor in Facebook, transforming a $500,000 investment into more than $1 billion.
Why is Palantir so controversial?
Palantir is recognized for its covert data mining and surveillance activities. It has been criticized for providing intelligence support to the Israeli military during the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict. CEO Karp acknowledged Palantir’s association with the IDF. Palantir has defended its collaboration with Israel and refuted accusations of facilitating war crimes. The firm has also been involved with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to monitor immigrants as part of the controversial policies of the Trump Administration.
Palantir has attracted criticism from data privacy advocates, anti-war activists, and various organizations.
Why would the Trump Administration engage Palantir to gather data on Americans?
Palantir has been contracted by the federal government for several years, including its work with Health and Human Services to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since Trump’s inauguration, Palantir’s profits and stock have soared. The company has secured more than $113 million from the federal government in 2025, and the Department of Defense awarded Palantir a $795 million contract last week. According to Palantir’s final quarterly report for 2024, it generated $1.2 billion in revenue from the U.S. government that year.
Palantir co-founder Thiel is a significant Republican contributor, donating tens of millions of dollars to Republican campaigns and $1.25 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign.
As reported by the New York Times, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were primarily responsible for choosing Palantir for the data collection initiative. Several DOGE employees previously held positions at Palantir or other companies funded by Thiel.