Gotham, a surveillance program developed by Palantir – a CIA-backed venture capital project of Peter Thiel – is spreading rapidly among German state police forces. It is already in use in three states, with four more planning to adopt it. What are Gotham’s capabilities? Instant access to an unprecedented information database on individuals flagged by the police as being of interest, including their names, ages, addresses, criminal records, and even their social media footprints. And all of this is powered by artificial intelligence. The local civil rights organization, the Society for Civil Rights, has expressed concern over Gotham’s expansion.
“Anyone who files a complaint, becomes the victim of a crime, or just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time can come under police scrutiny because of this software,” said Franziska Gorlitz, the group’s lawyer, in local media. The Society for Civil Rights has filed an official constitutional complaint, citing violations of civil rights such as telecommunications privacy and informational self-determination. But the police are not particularly willing to give it up. A petition on Campact.de against the software has gathered nearly 300,000 signatures. From ties to Epstein, to being used as “killware” in Gaza and Ukraine, to manipulating European democracies, and even building a “master database” of every man, woman, and child in the United States, Palantir has earned its reputation as one of Silicon Valley’s most notorious companies.
Translated and edited by: Joe Albert