Baden-Württemberg police may be allowed to use Palantir software temporarily
According to a report, Baden-Württemberg has reached an agreement on the use of Palantir's police data analysis software. There are conditions for its use.
(Image: Robert Way/Shutterstock.com)
After months of dispute, the coalition of the Greens and CDU in Baden-Württemberg has reached an agreement to allow the controversial police software “Gotham” from the US company Palantir in the future. This was reported by SWR. According to the agreement, the software may continue to be used under strict conditions – at least until there is a European solution.
According to SWR, the compromise envisages the CDU and the Greens introducing a bill in the state parliament to extend the Black Forest National Park. The Greens had previously announced that they would only be prepared to settle the dispute over Palantir if progress was made on the national park. In addition, the use of “Gotham” is to be subject to intensive parliamentary scrutiny in the future. Restrictions on the use of the technology are also planned, for example the use of artificial intelligence is to be avoided.
Data protectionists are critical of the use of Palantir
Data protectionists are highly critical of the use of Palantir. Baden-Württemberg's State Data Protection Commissioner, Tobias Keber, wants to “closely monitor” the introduction of the software. “Considering the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court, it is clear to us that possible intrusions must be mitigated by effective protective measures. It is therefore of central importance that we take a close look at the specific design of the software,” said Keber when asked by heise online.
The decisive factor is “which police data pools are linked with each other and how the fact that potentially uninvolved parties can be included in the data processing is dealt with. This is the case, for example, if they are listed as witnesses or whistleblowers in a case such as a traffic accident or if their data is linked to evidence (contact details in a confiscated smartphone)”.
A five-year contract for the use of the software with Palantir had already been signed by the CDU-led Ministry of the Interior in March – despite the lack of a legal basis for the use of the software. The Greens reacted to this with harsh criticism. Gotham will only actually be allowed to be used after an amendment to the Police Act, which cannot come into force until January 2025 at the earliest. An extension of the contract after the four and a half years is ruled out according to the coalition decision. The costs for Gotham amount to around 25 million euros. According to the report, the Ministry of the Interior justified the early conclusion of the contract with the expiry of a fixed price –, otherwise the state would have had to pay twice as much, according to the ministry. There is no right of termination.
Hesse and Bavaria are regarded as pioneers in the use of Palantir, and it is also in use in NRW. If you would like to get an idea of the Palantir company, you can watch the first broadcast of ”Watching You - The World of Palantir and Alex Karp” on August 6 at 22:50 on Das Erste, two days earlier it will be available in the ARD Mediathek.
(mack)
