Thread by @StefSimanowitz, 1. Hours before recess, PM quietly announced that Downing St had taken [...]

1. Hours before recess, PM quietly announced that Downing St had taken control of the govt’s use of data.

Trump did EXACT same thing in the US last week.

This is not a coincidence!

It is part of a single, coordinated US-UK strategy. #Palantir #COVID
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1285187606519717888?s=21 https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1285187606519717888

https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1285187606519717888?s=21

2. Now I know this may sound counter intuitive, but I ask you read to the end of the thread & ideally the thread embedded above

I don't pretend to have a single clear explanation, but I believe I have part of it.

Everything is fact-based.

Only v occasionally do I speculate.

2. Now I know this may sound counter intuitive, but I ask you read to the end of the thread & ideally the thread embedded aboveI don't pretend to have a single clear explanation, but I believe I have part of it.Everything is fact-based.Only v occasionally do I speculate.

3. In May, Amnesty warned: “The shadowy data-mining firm Palantir, whose technology has powered some of the most nefarious immigration abuses, is now collecting troves of health data about all of us.”

Palantir is running US & UK govt's #COVID platforms. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/21/why-are-we-trusting-company-with-ties-ice-intelligence-agencies-collect-our-health-information/

Opinion | Why are we trusting a company with ties to ICE and intelligence agencies to collect our...

Without adequate protections, we run the risk of massive, ongoing government surveillance of all Americans in the name of public health.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/21/why-are-we-trusting-company-with-ties-ice-intelligence-agencies-collect-our-health-information/

4. #Palantir, run by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, won a $7.5m contract to build the #COVID digital platform for US Health Dept (HHS) in April.

They won a similar contract in the UK for the NHS in April. This contract has just been extended for £1m.

5. On 8 July, Boris Johnson announced that SAGE had been sidelined & in favour of the secretive Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) which has taken over UK's #coronavirus response.

It is led by Clare Gardiner, a cybersecurity expert seconded from govt's GCHQ. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53325081

New government unit to take over Covid response

There are questions over whether the Joint Biosecurity Centre has the expertise needed for the job.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53325081

6. Six days later, on 14 July, the Trump admin ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC & send all #coronavirus data to a Washington database run by the company, Teletracking, & to "HHS Protect", run by #Palantir

@nytimes said it had alarmed health officials. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1283119890484867076

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1283119890484867076

7/. Whilst journalists & politicians in the US are starting to ask questions about Palantir’s role, this isn’t happening in UK.

30 members of Congress, including @ewarren & @JulianCastro, just called for greater transparency on how Palantir will use data.
https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/1286006397772222466?s=21 https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/1286006397772222466

https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/1286006397772222466?s=21

8/. Information about these Palantir contracts was not disclosed by the US & UK govts without a fight.

In the US, @nytimes had to sue the @CDCgov under the Freedom of Information Act & in UK govt only revealed contract details on the eve of a lawsuit brought by @openDemocracyUK.

9/. In the weeks since the HHS took over from the CDC, much of US’s #COVID19 data has become inaccessible.

Similarly, the UK govt stopped sharing data on testing in mid-May.

Asked why, ministers seem unwilling or unable to offer an intelligible reason.

10/. Palantir was awarded the NHS & HHS coronavirus contracts without a competitive tender.

The UK govt say #Palantir & #FacultyAI (the British company working on the digital platform with them) “did not need to bid” because of pre-existing NHS contracts. https://bylinetimes.com/2020/04/22/palantir-coronavirus-contract-did-not-go-to-competitive-tender/

Palantir Coronavirus Contract Did Not Go to Competitive Tender – Byline Times

David Hencke reveals that the UK Government's COVID-19 contract with the data surveillance firm owned by Donald Trump-backer Peter Thiel was approved under an obscure statutory instrument.

https://bylinetimes.com/2020/04/22/palantir-coronavirus-contract-did-not-go-to-competitive-tender/

11/. The pre-existing £250m NHS contract to build an AI Lab, had been signed with #FacultyAI in August 2019, but was only publicly announced on 13 March.

#FacultyAI was set up by Ben & Marc Warner.

They worked on Conservative election & Leave campaigns.

12/. It was reported that a £400K contract awarded directly to Faculty allows them to analyse social media data, utility bills & credit rating scores. Details are unknown b/c the published contract was partly redacted.

Ben Warner joined No.10 in 2019. He sat in 13 SAGE meetings.