Big data in the police - who protects our data?

Imagine reporting an incident to the police as a witness - and ending up directly in a secret analysis database. This is exactly what the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is now emphatically warning against. The target: "Gotham", the data analysis software from the US company Palantir.

The technology, which is used by secret services and the military in the USA, is now also set to help German police authorities across the country in the fight against crime. Hesse, Bavaria and NRW are already using it. Other states could follow - if the Federal Ministry of the Interior has its way. But data protectionists are sounding the alarm.

What is Palantir - and why is it so heavily criticized?

Palantir is no ordinary IT company. It is closely linked to US authorities such as the CIA and has been criticized internationally for its proximity to military and surveillance projects. The software can link and analyze huge amounts of data from various sources - such as police databases, video surveillance and social networks - and recognize behaviour-based patterns.

What is technically impressive is socially controversial: the CCC warns that the software also stores and analyzes bystanders such as witnesses, whistleblowers or contact persons. Anyone who contacts the police could suddenly find themselves in a digital grid.

Dependence on US standards and possible violations of fundamental rights

The CCC criticizes not only the lack of transparency and control in the use of the software, but also the dependence on a US company with its own data protection standards. While Germany and Europe set high standards for data processing, the level of protection in the USA is significantly lower.

Together with the Society for Civil Liberties, a constitutional complaint has now even been filed against the use of the software in Bavaria. The accusation is that the Free State is not complying with the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court, which established clear rules for the use of such systems in 2023 - for example on the separation of preventive and repressive police work.

Potential nightmare for data protection

Palantir's software is not just an analysis tool - it is a surveillance instrument with enormous power potential. When even eyewitnesses and whistleblowers are automatically entered into a database, this is no longer protection - this is control mania.

Security authorities need digital tools - no question about it. But not at any price. Especially not when fundamental rights are at stake. The fact that a US company with close intelligence service connections is deeply integrated into our internal security structures is an obvious risk. Security must not come at the expense of freedom. A sovereign constitutional state needs its own solutions - not data packages from Denver.