👁 Palantir's push to dig deeper into UK policing slams into brick wall

Five British police forces have pulled the plug on Palantir’s pilot project, reports the FT. 

The East Midlands Special Operations Unit - covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire - confirmed the program with Palantir’s Foundry software ends this month.

Palantir's "low- or no-cost" pilots have come under criticism for serving as a gateway to larger contracts awarded without competitive bidding.

Opponents blast the pilot strategy as a Trojan horse: a cheap point of entry that leads to a costly lock-in.

Setbacks for the surveillance-tech powerhouse are starting to pile up:

🌏Metropolitan Police piloted Palantir’s systems to detect officer misconduct, seeking a wider contract to the tune of roughly $66.9 million over two years; London’s policing oversight body (Mopac) blocked the deal due to lack of competitive bidding and unclear value for money

🌏Lancashire Police let its pilot expire and has refused to renew another undisclosed contract

🌏Eastern Region Special Operations and Hertfordshire pilots are running, but the termination shadow looms

Peter Thiel’s blood-spattered AI algorithms have burrowed into the UK state, scooping up more than $896M in public and defense contracts - from the NHS and Ministry of Defense to police, refugee schemes, and even Britain’s nuclear deterrent infrastructure.

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