New York City hospitals drop Palantir as controversial AI firm expands in UK

New York City’s public hospital system announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Palantir as controversy mounts in the UK over the data analytics and AI firm’s government contract. The president of the US’ largest municipal public healthcare system, Dr Mitchell Katz, testified last week before the New York city council that the agreement with Palantir would expire in October. He said at the hearing that the contract, which focused on recovering money for insurance claims, was always meant to be short-term, and that there was an “absolute firewall” preventing Palantir from sharing information with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said that the agency has “not had any incidents”.

The contract and related payment documents show that NYC Health + Hospitals has paid Palantir nearly $4m since November 2023. The contract noted that Palantir would be able to review notes about patient’s health and help the hospital claim more money in public benefits through programs such as Medicaid. It also includes a line stating that with permission from the city agency, Palantir can “de-identify” patients’ protected health information and use it for “purposes other than research”.

As New York City’s hospital system prepares to part ways with Palantir, the company is facing similar scrutiny over privacy issues in its £330m agreement with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Health officials in the UK are concerned that the controversy surrounding Palantir may stop the nationwide rollout of the company’s data system. Palantir, which also contracts with the British government’s Ministry of Defence, is expanding its influence in the country – despite backlash from activists and some lawmakers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently awarded Palantir a contract to investigate internal intelligence data to help root out financial crime, sparking outcry from some MPs.

Data privacy experts interviewed by the Guardian said that there are risks in Palantir accessing New Yorkers’ de-identified data for purposes other than research, especially given the company’s vast access to government records and ability to analyze large datasets. “De-identification is not the guarantee it used to be, and it’s getting easier with AI capabilities to re-identify information,” said Sharona Hoffman, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. Activists living in New York City and the UK are counting this as a win, with groups like Medact and Amnesty International UK calling on the NHS to follow New York City’s example and terminate its contract with Palantir.