The CIA's favorite tech firm: How Palantir quietly built America's surveillance system
The firm's name comes from J.R.R. Tolkein's 'Seeing Stone of Sauron'
A June poll by YouGov showed that 84% of Americans are content with the U.S. government monitoring suspected terrorists. However, 56% are concerned about phone and internet data monitoring, and 71% are worried that extra surveillance suppresses political opinion.
While the polling shows that over half of all Americans are concerned about government surveillance, the U.S. government, since the Sept. 11 attacks, have drastically increased its surveillance against its own citizens.
Governmental agencies such as the CIA, FBI and ICE have expanded contracts with private data analysis corporations to increase such surveillance, buying company software that keeps tabs on citizens’ activity online. One of the most controversial of these corporations are none other than Palantir Technologies.
Founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Alex Karp and other investors, Palantir’s origins trace to counterterrorism efforts post-9/11. One of its first investors was the CIA’s venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, embedding the company in U.S. intelligence operations early on.
Islamic interviewed a former Palo Alto Security Networks employee who specialized in data analysis to explain Palantir’s controversies. The source wished to remain anonymous out of fear for their safety.
The source described Palantir as a “data analysis company” that “takes all sets of data, all sets of signals, then predicts what could happen next with an individual.”
On paper, the explanation sounds nothing short of any online data company. However, the source explained that the name Palantir is derived from a key aspect of J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy series Lord of the Rings: the “Seeing Stone of Sauron.”
“The name shows their Orwellian behavior,” the source said. “One of the first investors of Palantir was the CIA. I think they invested in this company so they could do things that the CIA couldn’t do.”
The source explained that effectively Palantir functions as an extension of government agencies, performing surveillance activities that corporations can achieve with fewer legal restrictions.
U.S. surveillance practices significantly expanded after 9/11 through legislation like the Patriot Act and expanded Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) powers, which allowed agencies to conduct widespread electronic surveillance with minimal judicial oversight. Much of the surveillance has been conducted in coordination with companies such as Palantir, according to the source.
These issues became one of the forefront of American issues in 2013, when former intelligence contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) Edward Snowden exposed thousands of government documents showing mass surveillance on Americans via data and telecommunication companies.
Ever since, the issue of surveillance in the U.S. has only grown.
Into this environment, Palantir introduced Gotham, a platform integrating disparate datasets, enabling agencies to build comprehensive profiles and detect relationships across wide networks, according to The Conversation.
Palantir’s influence extends into law enforcement predictive policing. Wired revealed its role in controversial programs in Los Angeles and New Orleans, where Palantir tools identified “chronic offenders” based on data analytics, disproportionately affecting Black and Latino communities without transparent oversight.
These systems raise concerns about racial bias embedded in data and decision-making algorithms.
Moreover, Palantir technology underpinned U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping identify insurgents and threats on the battlefield. Special Operations Forces campaigned to retain Palantir’s systems due to their effectiveness in combat intelligence, according to Business Insider.
Domestically, Palantir’s role in immigration enforcement has provoked significant controversy. Since 2014, the company has provided Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with the Investigative Case Management system, integrating FBI, DHS, financial, and social data sources to pinpoint undocumented individuals.
This brings us to 2025, when ICE awarded Palantir $30 million for ImmigrationOS, a platform offering real-time tracking and expedited deportations
This system enabled hundreds of arrests, including families during 2024 raids, underpinning widespread criticism from migration and human rights groups such as Mijente and Amnesty International.
According to the anonymous founder, Palantir’s analytic tools are like “AI X-ray machines” that detect seemingly benign behavior as potentially suspicious.
Much of the tools are allegedly used by governments to monitor citizens extensively, drawing predictive conclusions from all available signals, such as internet and app usage, according to the source.
“These people can help the government catch you if they find any ounce of suspicion about you, even if you’re legally doing nothing wrong,” the source added.
Privacy advocates warn Palantir’s centralization of data across agencies creates a dangerous “single point of failure” vulnerable to abuse. Many of these tools can be used through AI, which can misread or mis summarize someone’s actions as dangerous, even if legal.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden stated in a July speech that private AI companies now “run the algorithms of power,” outsourcing intelligence activities that evade constitutional safeguards.
With the alarms beginning to go off on this seeming breach of private protection and legality of extensive surveillance, some U.S. lawmakers pushed for oversight.
At the front of this initiative is the AI PLAN Act, introduced in March. It is designed to audit government contracts involving AI tools and enforce transparency.
However, critics argue these efforts are insufficient to counteract embedded structural risks. Polls reveal skepticism, with only 29% trusting government agencies to protect privacy despite 61% supporting AI’s role in national defense, according to PEW Research Center.
The Trump administration has heavily prioritized Palantir’s analytics in national security and immigration enforcement. A whopping $8 billion Army software contract with Palantir in August point to this. Moreover, Palantir secured an additional $113 million in contracts spanning Homeland Security, Pentagon and CDC, according to the New York Times.
The source explained however, that Trump has not been the first U.S. president to obtain assistance from software companies for warfare.
“Not just Trump, but even Barack Obama had a drone program that used scores to kill people,” the source said. “Now it’s created kill lists, and Palantir is used to create these lists.”
Palantir’s clients include the FBI, CIA, and the Israeli government, with access to data government agencies may not hold directly, often shared discreetly.
As the source reiterated, “That’s why this company is so scary.” He ultimately labeled Palantir “a crystal ball for governments.”
The source emphasized that as a result, American citizens should reducing digital exposure as much as possible
“Stop using WhatsApp, switch to Signal, avoid data brokers, reduce public data about yourself,” the source advised. “Use DuckduckGo.”
The source also advocated for people to come together in funding additional privacy-enhancing software.