Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and former executive Wendy Anderson have hit back against a NY Times report warning that the company is laying the groundwork for government surveillance on steroids through a massive database that would coordinate the private information of US citizens across federal agencies.
"Palantir’s not a “database”; it’s a platform created by 1000s of the most talented and patriotic Americans to partner with our DoD to stop attacks and defeat bad guys, while protecting liberty & privacy," Lonsdale posted on X in response to the account "Retard Finder," that said "The Palantir database idea is retarded."
Palantir’s not a “database”; it’s a platform created by 1000s of the most talented and patriotic Americans to partner with our DoD to stop attacks and defeat bad guys, while protecting liberty & privacy.
— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) June 3, 2025
In a sad turn of events, the retard account itself is, in fact, retarded. https://t.co/Llc1aLCAph
"There are hundreds of similar types of software and efforts in the USA throughout the west; what’s unique about Palantir is that it’s BY FAR the best at stopping bad guys," Lonsdale continued.
When asked by a self-described Palantir shareholder whether he'd "personally be comfortable with your personal data being stored in this database if AOC or Ilhan Omar were President," Lonsdale replied:
"given the government does operate on sensitive data: I 100% prefer PLTR to be there if sketchy people are in charge, as it has full access rules and audit trails; others don’t."
Palantir doesn’t collect or store this data, so the question is based on a misunderstanding.
— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) June 3, 2025
However, given the government does operate on sensitive data: I 100% prefer PLTR to be there if sketchy people are in charge, as it has full access rules and audit trails; others don’t.
Meanwhile, Wendy Anderson - Palantir's former Senior VP of Federal & National Security from Jan. 2020 - April 2025 took to X to "address the inaccuracies" in the Times report, writing that "My purpose here is simple: to call for honest and accurate reporting..."
Plenty of people have valid criticisms of Palantir—I at times raised concerns while there, as the culture encourages. I believe in speaking up. I also believe in getting the facts right and straight. Criticize what you find problematic—but start with the truth. 3/11
— Wendy R. Anderson (@wendyranderson) June 3, 2025
Continued...
INACCURACY #1: The headline "Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans" is fundamentally wrong. Palantir doesn't do that. They provide software that helps organizations analyze data those organizations already possess.
INACCURACY #2: The article suggests Palantir is building a "master database." That's not how Foundry works. It's a data integration platform that connects to existing systems. Read more about Foundry here.
INACCURACY #3: "Which could easily merge data on Americans" - this framing makes standard enterprise data integration sound sinister. Many companies and government agencies use similar tools to work with data across multiple systems. This isn't unique or nefarious technology.
INACCURACY #4: The article seems to conflate what software CAN do with what it IS doing. Yes, data integration tools can theoretically be misused - so can Excel, SQL databases, or any data tool. The article provides no evidence of misuse, only fear about possibilities.
INACCURACY #5: Describing routine government IT modernization as surveillance infrastructure. Agencies updating their data systems and analytics capabilities is normal.
ACCURATE STATEMENT: Palantir has said they're "a data processor, not a data controller." Clients define what data is accessed and how it's used. This is a crucial distinction the article glosses over while creating surveillance panic. Again, Palantir does not collect, store, or sell personal data.
The article takes standard enterprise software functionality and frames it as dangerous surveillance tech. It's like writing a scary article about Excel because it "could be used to track Americans" if someone put personal data in spreadsheets. Palantir is a public company in a democracy with a robust First Amendment—of course, there are legitimate things to scrutinize and criticize (as w any company), from contracts to clients to strategy. Dr. Karp himself has said countless times: “We built Palantir with the idea that dissent is not only acceptable but required.” But don't misrepresent what their software does. Facts matter.
And while ZeroHedge is fundamentally against government surveillance and may be selling ham radios & carrier pigeons in the store soon (not kidding on the radios), we do find it quite interesting that after decades of running cover for deep state surveillance, the NY Times suddenly cares deeply about what the Trump administration is up to in that regard.
