More than 44,000 people have filed legal objections to stop the NHS’s Federated Data Platform handling their health records. The platform runs on Palantir software. The campaign asks NHS England to stop the platform sharing, storing or using their data, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The objections rely on article 21 of the UK GDPR, the right to object. Under it, an organisation must stop processing a person’s data unless it can show compelling legitimate grounds to continue. The objectors also want the NHS to pause processing their data while it weighs the requests, wrote Robert Booth, the Guardian’s UK technology editor.
A coordinated campaign
The not-for-profit 38 Degrees coordinated the filings, which say Palantir’s involvement undermines trust in NHS data confidentiality. Veronica Hawking is its campaigns director.
“The scale of this public backlash should be a huge wake-up call for the government,” she said.
Campaigners object to Palantir’s work for the Israeli military and for US immigration enforcement. Palantir executive Louis Mosley has said its technology helped locate hostages in Gaza and was not used for military targeting. On Wednesday, Amnesty International and Just Treatment parked a van styled as a damaged Palestinian ambulance outside Palantir’s London office.
Separately, health charity MedAct says more than 85,000 patients have made formal complaints to their hospitals, The Register reported. MedAct and Just Treatment also planned a protest at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool this week.
NHS England told the Guardian it would respond to the objections under data protection law.
“All NHS organisations remain in control of their data within the FDP, with suppliers unable to access it for their own purposes.”
Palantir said it handles patient data only on the NHS’s instructions, and that the data stays in the UK. Trusts using its software have recorded 117,000 additional operations, the company said. It also cited a 14.3% cut in discharge delays for long-stay patients.
A contract near its break point
Palantir won the lead role on the £330m, seven-year contract in November 2023. The first term ends early next year. The government can then use a break clause or extend the deal, The Register reported. Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joined Palantir this month to guide its work with the UK government.
The campaign groups say 30 September is the contractual deadline for Palantir to hand NHS England an exit plan. Two House of Commons select committees have urged the government to use the break clause. Prime Minister Andy Burnham must decide within months, the Guardian reported.
NHS data leaders have raised doubts too. The Chief Data and Analytics Officers Network represents senior NHS data staff. In a letter, it urged the government to “consider the break clause”.
The platform “has been unable to demonstrate the level of evidence, confidence and realised value that should be expected following sustained investment and extensive policy support,” the network wrote.
A health minister warned this month that mistrust of Palantir is pushing patients to opt out of NHS data sharing. Britain’s grid operator, meanwhile, gave Palantir a £21m direct award without competition.