Drop Palantir Now

THE CASE AGAINST PALANTIR

WHY PALANTIR?

Palantir is not just another technology company.

Palantir is a US technology company whose software is used by governments, police forces, militaries and other institutions to process and analyse large quantities of data.

The company has become deeply controversial because of the uses of its technology and the institutions it works with.

PALANTIR AND PALESTINE

Palantir has contracts and partnerships connected to the Israeli state and military.

The company has been accused of providing technology that supports Israel's military operations and surveillance infrastructure at a time when Israel's genocide against Palestinians has resulted in mass civilian deaths, displacement and destruction.

We believe what is happening in Palestine cannot be separated from the companies that provide technology and infrastructure to the institutions carrying it out.

Palantir's role in supporting Israel's military and the genocide in Palestine is one of the reasons we oppose its involvement in our public services.

We do not believe Coventry City Council should be spending public money with a company whose technology is connected to the machinery of war and repression.

PALANTIR AND ICE

Palantir has also provided technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Its systems have been used to support immigration enforcement operations, including the identification and targeting of migrants and their families.

For us, this raises fundamental questions about what happens when powerful data technologies are placed in the hands of institutions exercising coercive state power.

SURVEILLANCE AND SENSITIVE DATA

Palantir's technology is designed to bring together and analyse large quantities of information.

That makes questions about privacy, surveillance and democratic accountability particularly important when the technology is used by public authorities.

We believe residents should have a meaningful say over how their information is collected, connected, analysed and used.

PALANTIR AND COVENTRY

£750,000 of public money. A multinational technology company. Sensitive public-service data.

The contract — on the record

In September 2025, Coventry City Council engaged Palantir to provide AI-related services within children's services.

The initial contract was valued at £500,000.

In April 2026, the contract was renewed at a value of £750,000.

That means hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money are being directed towards a multinational technology company for work that we believe should instead strengthen Coventry's own public-sector capacity.

WHERE WAS THE PUBLIC DEBATE?

Residents deserve to know:

  • Why Palantir?
  • Why this contract?
  • Why this amount of public money?
  • What alternatives were considered?
  • What safeguards are in place for sensitive data?
  • What happens to public-sector jobs and expertise?

And most importantly:

Where was the meaningful consultation with the people who work in these services and the residents whose data is being handled?

We believe decisions of this scale should not be made behind closed doors.

THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN AI

The Council may present Palantir as a technological solution to problems facing children's services.

But technology cannot solve fundamentally political problems.

It cannot replace:

  • properly funded services
  • enough social workers
  • manageable workloads
  • secure employment
  • experienced staff
  • democratic accountability
  • investment in communities

AI cannot fix a public service that has been starved of resources.

We need investment in people, not dependence on private technology companies.

And we do not believe that public money should be flowing to corporations whose technology is implicated in surveillance, immigration enforcement and the genocide in Palestine.

THE RISKS OF OUTSOURCING OUR DATA

  1. PUBLIC MONEY

    Hundreds of thousands of pounds are being spent on a private multinational when that money could instead strengthen Coventry's own services, technology and workforce.

  2. DATA AND PRIVACY

    Children's services handle some of the most sensitive information imaginable.

    We believe residents should have confidence that their personal information is being handled transparently, securely and in the public interest.

  3. JOBS AND EXPERTISE

    Outsourcing technological infrastructure can mean losing public-sector knowledge and expertise.

    Once that expertise has disappeared, rebuilding it can be difficult and expensive.

  4. CORPORATE DEPENDENCY

    We are concerned about public bodies becoming dependent on private technology companies for essential infrastructure.

    A system that begins as an outsourced service can become something much harder to replace later.

  5. DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY

    Public services should ultimately be accountable to the people who use and provide them — not to shareholders or multinational corporations.

OUR DEMANDS

DROP PALANTIR NOW

We are calling on Coventry City Council to:

  1. END THE PALANTIR CONTRACT

    Terminate Coventry City Council's contract with Palantir and develop a plan to transition away from the company's technology.

  2. BRING OUR DATA IN-HOUSE

    Invest in Coventry's own public-sector technology, digital infrastructure and expertise.

  3. PROTECT WORKERS

    Guarantee that decisions about AI, automation and data systems will not be used to undermine jobs, conditions or the professional judgement of public-sector workers.

  4. CONSULT RECOGNISED TRADE UNIONS

    No major changes to technology, data management or AI affecting staff should take place without meaningful engagement and agreement with recognised trade unions.

  5. GIVE COVENTRY RESIDENTS A VOICE

    Residents should have a genuine say in decisions about how their personal data is collected, stored, analysed and used.

  6. INVEST IN PUBLIC SERVICES

    Use public money to properly fund and staff the services Coventry's communities rely on.

A GROWING RESISTANCE

Coventry is not alone.

Coventry is part of a growing resistance to Palantir's expansion into public services.

A growing resistance — on the record

In 2024, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust refused to adopt a proposed Palantir contract.

In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a proposed £25.3 million Metropolitan Police deal with Palantir for 2026–27.

Internationally, institutions have also questioned their dependence on Palantir and looked towards domestic alternatives.

The message is becoming increasingly clear:

Public services do not have to become dependent on Palantir.

There are alternatives.