No place for Palantir in a democratic Europe!

No place for Palantir in a democratic Europe! Over 120 campaigning organisations and unions across Europe, including Corporate Europe Observatory, Global Justice Now and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) have issued a joint call to governments and the European Commission to scrap all existing public sector contracts with the US tech company Palantir. Read it here. The full letter can be read here, as well as the full list of signatories, and its the demands are for European governments and public institutions to: - Terminate contracts with Palantir Technologies and permanently ban the company from future public contracts - Develop alternative data solutions compatible with public service – and put in place transparent mechanisms for safeguarding people from mass surveillance - Protect democracy and guard against the rise of the far right by investing in and democratising public institutions, providing good jobs and services - Work to build international coalitions against corporate capture by companies like Palantir, building and sharing alternative technological developments - Europe’s public finance institutions must divest from Palantir Palantir is not just another tech company selling governments a piece of software. Its systems are being woven into the machinery of the state, creating deep dependencies while giving a private company a far too powerful role in how governments process sensitive information and make decisions. Olivier Hoedeman of Corporate Europe Observatory, said “This is a recipe for corporate capture of public infrastructure and decision-making. A company whose technologies are implicated in serious human rights abuses should not be allowed to become an integral part of Europe’s public infrastructure. Member state governments and the EU institutions should cut their ties with Palantir and scrap their contracts with the company.” “Palantir’s ramping up of ‘war-related’ support for Israel during the genocide in Gaza and the apparent disdain of its leadership for democracy are just two clear signs that this company serves the interests of the rich and powerful, not the general public. Yet it has been allowed to embed dubious technologies across our public services, giving it access to sensitive data and creating worrying new technical dependencies", added Tim Bierley, campaign manager at Global Justice. "The UK must work with other countries to end dependence on companies involved in human rights abuses, and end the outsourcing of the public sphere to a dangerous class of big tech oligarchs”, he concluded. Lastly, Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary commented: “companies like Palantir, engaging in tax avoidance strategies, have no place in a democratic Europe. The European Commission has missed an opportunity with its proposal for the Public Procurement Directive to put the screws on tax avoiders. Europe must stop rewarding public contracts to corporations that do not share public service values. The European Parliament must fix this. It is unacceptable to keep feeding corporations with public money while they minimise their tax bills in the middle of a public services emergency. Every euro shifted offshore means fewer nurses, teachers or firefighters.” ❌ WE SAY NO TO PALANTIR We and 120+ organisations and unions across Europe are calling on our governments and the European Commission to scrap all existing public sector contracts with Palantir. Read the open letter here: www.globaljustice.org.uk/wp-content/u... [image or embed]— Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) (@corporateeurope.org) 28 September 2026 at 14:21