Amnesty International on Thursday renewed its call for hospitals not to use software from Palantir Technologies and urged NHS England to cancel its contract with the company.
In a statement, Amnesty International said that a recent briefing by Medact, a group of health workers in the UK, highlighted “serious human rights concerns and risks” related to Palantir being contracted to build NHS England’s Federated Data Platform (FDP).
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Palantir, a surveillance technology company, has secured several contracts across major UK public institutions and is currently working with both the Israeli and British military.
Matt Mahmoudi, a researcher and adviser on artificial intelligence and human rights at Amnesty International, said the organization supports the briefing published by Medact and its partners, which argues that Palantir is an “unsuitable partner” for NHS England.
“Palantir has a track record of flagrantly disregarding international law and standards, including through violations of the human rights of migrants in the United States and services to the Israeli military and intelligence services that are linked to Gaza and Israel’s ongoing genocide there,” he added.
Matt Mahmoudi said Amnesty International is urging NHS England, the Government of the United Kingdom, and other public institutions to use their influence over investments by responsibly divesting from Palantir Technologies and stopping the purchase of the company’s equipment and services.
“These measures must remain in place until the company can demonstrate that it is not contributing to Israel’s genocide, apartheid, unlawful occupation or other crimes under international law,” he said.
