Trump may team with a tech company to create a database of Americans

The Trump administration may be taking an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies to the next level by partnering with a tech company to compile data and track Americans across the country. The company, Palantir, has denied these accusations. But that has not stopped concerns from spreading about the potential data collection, including from some in President Donald Trump's own camp.

Creating the database

The claims of the Trump administration partnering with Palantir to create a "database of Americans" first surfaced in a May 30 report from The New York Times. Palantir, a data analysis and tech firm co-founded by Trump megadonor Peter Thiel, has already been working with the White House and has "received more than $113 million in federal government spending since Trump took office," said the Times. Using Palantir's technology "paves the way for Trump to easily merge information from different agencies."

Trump officials have "already sought access to hundreds of data points on citizens and others through government databases," said the Times, with Palantir's assistance. The Department of Defense also recently awarded the company a $795 million contract. If Palantir's technology gives the government a centralized platform of this data, it could "potentially use such information to advance his political agenda by policing immigrants and punishing critics," the Times reported.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

And this is already coming to fruition, according to the Times, as Palantir engineers have "quietly discussed" the "goal of uniting data on Americans." The company is "reportedly working with the administration in the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Internal Revenue Service" to consolidate data, said The Independent. The White House is reportedly also considering "deploying its technology at the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education." Both of these agencies "store sensitive information about Americans' identities and finances."

Mixed reactions

Palantir has denied the report that it is working to create a database of Americans. The "recently published article by The New York Times is blatantly untrue," the company said on X. Palantir "never collects data to unlawfully surveil Americans, and our Foundry platform employs granular security protections."

This has not stopped many from raising concerns about the company's potential activities with the Trump administration. Palantir has previously been "heavily criticized by data privacy advocates, anti-war protesters, and other organizations over the years," said Mashable, as it has had federal contracts going back years. However, its role with the government has reportedly been turbocharged since Trump reclaimed office.

On its "face, it looks like the government is trying to save money in terms of operations and not doing the same thing over and over again," said Armen Kurdian, a retired U.S. Navy captain, to NewsNation. But when you "look a little deeper, are the implications or the risks of putting all the information together at one time going to make a greater risk for the American public?"

Even some Trump allies are reportedly worried about the potential. Several "pro-Trump voices expressed dismay and feelings of betrayal across social media platforms like X," including many high-profile MAGA figures, said Newsweek. This is an "ultimate betrayal of his own people," said Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist who has dined with Trump, on X.