A bicameral group of Democrats is pressing Palantir on reported efforts to build a mega-database on Americans’ tax data and other information that the lawmakers warned would violate numerous Federal privacy statutes.
In a June 17 letter led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., 10 lawmakers demanded information from Palantir CEO Alex Karp after a report from The New York Times last month said that the major software company has been working with the Trump administration to collect mass amounts of Americans’ data at the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) to create a government-wide searchable database.
The move to do so breaks numerous Federal laws including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code, lawmakers wrote.
“The unprecedented possibility of a searchable, ‘mega-database’ of tax returns and other data that will potentially be shared with or accessed by other federal agencies is a surveillance nightmare that raises a host of legal concerns, not least that it will make it significantly easier for Donald Trump’s Administration to spy on and target his growing list of enemies and other Americans,” reads the letter.
Lawmakers also noted that Palantir was reportedly contracted to create the database by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been involved in numerous court battles over its access to Americans’ sensitive information at several agencies including the Social Security Administration, Department of Treasury, and IRS.
“Several DOGE members are former Palantir employees,” added lawmakers.
“The IRS hiring Palantir … blatantly violates the notice, transparency, and procedural requirements of the Privacy Act,” reads the letter.
Lawmakers also expressed concern over Palantir’s longstanding relationship with the Trump administration, pointing to the deployment of the company’s software across numerous Federal agencies to conduct sweeping data-gathering operations – including a recent $795 million contract with the Department of Defense to power artificial intelligence-based military data fusion.
Palantir’s software has also reportedly been embedded within the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health, and others, enabling what lawmakers warned could be far-reaching domestic operations with little oversight.
“You have bragged that Palantir enables its military customers to ‘bring violence and death to our enemies,’” reads the letter. “We are concerned that Palantir’s software could be used to enable domestic operations that violate Americans’ rights.”
On June 17, Palantir published a response to the lawmakers’ letter asserting that claims referenced by lawmakers were false, stating that “Palantir is not building a master database, and Palantir is neither conducting nor enabling mass surveillance of American citizens.”
The company published a similar statement in late May following the initial publishing of The New York Times article saying there isn’t a “contract under the Trump administration for Palantir to begin something like a whole-of-government master database on Americans.”
Specific questions asked by lawmakers include the disclosure of Palantir’s government contracts, any legal protections for executives, and refusals of Trump-era requests over legal concerns. The letter also seeks answers on Privacy Act compliance, human rights red lines, and staff resignations tied to the company’s Federal work.
Other members of Congress who signed the letter include Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., Summer Lee, D-Pa., James McGovern, D-Mass., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Paul Tonko, D-N.Y.