Palantir’s Israel Boast Backfires; Europe Starts Slamming Doors

Right, so Palantir, the giant US surveillance-tech firm that keeps turning up wherever public systems, police data, health data and state power are being bundled into something shiny and expensive, has just hit a rather awkward patch of road, you’ll be broken hearted to hear I’m sure.Its boss has been boasting about Israel. Europe is starting to back away. France is moving off. Spain has reportedly told state-backed firms to avoid new contracts with them. Even permanently on the wrong side of history Germany has had its own sovereignty alarms go off over them. But here in Britain, because apparently our government sees a warning sign and mistakes it for a sales invitation, Palantir’s UK boss is on television over a blocked £50m Met Police deal, while Westminster still finds room for the corporate hospitality. Any excuse for a buffet.So this story is about the moment Palantir’s politics, its public-sector ambitions and Europe’s growing rejection of US tech dependency all collide, and Britain somehow ends up standing there having still rolled out a red carpet.