Palantir is a Silicon Valley based company that produces AI software primarily for surveillance and military use. Its largest customer is the US Department of Defense. As per official US government spending data, Palantir has received 4.2 Billion USD in contracts (US Army, US Airforce, and ICE being the three largest). With the US government firmly in their pocket, and a foothold in the UK, with the National Health Service, Palantir has its sights set on Europe. German police agencies are likely to be next.
The software that Palantir produces creates ontologies—systems that can create an accurate model of the world by combining data from multiple sources. At a conference in February 2026, Cameron Stanley—the Chief Digital and AI officer of the US Department of War—demonstrated how their AI based tool could be used to automate the military chain of command by combining satellite data, realtime intelligence, and machine vision. A recent New York Times article reveals that “…(ICE) agents are tapping into a database, built by the data analytics company Palantir, that combines government and commercial data to identify real-time locations for individuals they are pursuing.” Palantir is becoming true to its name—an all-seeing eye for Sauron.
In 2023, all twenty police agencies in Germany (16 state and 4 federal) came together to announce a long-term vision called Police 20/20 (P20). One slide says: “In future, the existing functions will be offered within a single system in the same form for all participants.” The single system that they are talking about is very likely to be Palantir. Four states have already implemented Palantir’s Gotham software—Hessen (2017), NRW (2019), Bayern (2024), and most recently Baden-Württemberg (2025). Sachsen-Anhalt and Berlin are likely to be next. Palantir might soon have access to all the police databases in Germany.
The biggest barrier to Palantir’s entry into Germany, thus far, has been legal. In 2023, the Federal Constitutional Court placed limits on what the police in Hessen are allowed to do with Palantir’s software. Around the same time, the then Minister of Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD) blocked federal police agencies from using Palantir. Her successor, though, has other ideas. In March 2026, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), introduced new draft legislation that will clear the way for the use of AI based surveillance software in federal police agencies.
Opposition to the draft laws—called Lex Palantir by critics—has come largely from civil society actors. A coalition of groups including Amnesty International, Chaos Computer Club, and Pro Asyl has launched a campaign arguing that the legislation violates our fundamental rights, and is especially discriminatory towards asylum seekers. The group Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.v (GFF) has also launched a legal challenge against Palantir in Bavaria.
Organized political opposition, however, seems to be lacking. In Baden-Württemberg, where Palantir was legalised most recently, the Green party—a member of the ruling coalition—initially claimed ignorance of the deal. Later it turns out there might have been a backroom deal with the CDU—a bigger nature reserve in exchange for allowing the police to use Palantir. A recent query tabled at the Bundestag, asks the Interior Ministry about Palantir—and asks about its use at the country’s borders. The query is from—surprise, surprise—the AfD faction.
The rightward swing (lurch?) in German politics plays perfectly into the Palantir playbook. In a post on X, which is based on their CEO Alex Karp’s new book they say: “One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin.” They go on to say “The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price.” On their marketing website they say “Our software powers real-time, AI-driven decisions in critical government and commercial enterprises in the West, from the factory floors to the front lines.” The masks are off. Palantir’s software, combined with Germany’s plans to build the biggest army in Europe by 2039 is a truly ominous sign for the world. It will take a serious, concerted effort from the opposition to stop this. Sadly, all is quiet on the Left front!
