Palantir Staff Question ICE, DoD Deals, Firm 'Baddies'
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Palantir's Slack logs and staff interviews expose internal debates over its contracts with ICE and the Department of Defense during President Donald Trump's second term.
- Palantir employees began questioning the company's commitment to civil liberties within months of the contract, publicly asking “Are we the baddies?” and describing the situation as a crisis.
- Palantir's privacy team warned that a sufficiently malicious customer cannot be stopped in real time, only audited after the fact, highlighting limits of oversight.
- Palantir routinely purged the Slack channel used for employee inquiries every seven days, limiting the longevity of internal records.
- Palantir introduced a "Chic Chore Coat" product, which commentators used to satirize the company's perceived role as a “bad guy.”
- Palantir faced criticism describing its trajectory as a “descent into fascism,” reflecting broader ethical concerns among staff.
Why it matters: The internal ethical debate and the company’s record‑purging practice expose a credibility gap that erodes trust among government clients and staff, while the public framing of Palantir as a “baddie” or “fascist” threat damages its market reputation and future contract opportunities.
Ask SkimNews
