The Guardian view on NHS records: patients are not raw material for big tech
Ministers should end Palantir’s contract before medical confidentiality is sacrificed to Silicon Valley’s appetite for public data
TL;DR
- Palantir engineers could gain "unlimited access" to identifiable NHS patient data, potentially breaching medical confidentiality.
- Patients' trust could be eroded if sensitive details are disclosed to US tech corporations.
- MPs have warned that Palantir represents an "unacceptable point of weakness" due to its business model of monetizing NHS patient data for US shareholders.
- The report recommends activating the break clause in Palantir's £330m NHS contract and moving to an in-house or UK-owned provider.
- Public bodies are becoming dependent on powerful technology companies, undermining state autonomy and blurring accountability.
- Concerns are raised about a new £1.8bn digital ID system, with mandatory adoption viewed as wrongheaded.
- Parliamentary votes on each use of digital ID are suggested as a democratic safeguard.
- Peter Thiel, a co-founder of Palantir, has reportedly disparaged the idea of a national health service.