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Palantir Knows Everything  About You

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Palantir Knows Everything About You

Bloomberg Businessweek ,

5 min read
4 take-aways
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What's inside?

A data-mining company is growing its bottom line at the expense of civil liberties.

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8

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  • Eye Opening
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Recommendation

Facebook may currently be the black sheep when it comes to privacy and data violations, but it isn’t the only company capable of watching every step you take. Bloomberg Businessweek writers Lizette Chapman, Jordan Robertson and Peter Waldman profile the big-data firm Palantir Technologies, which has evolved from helping the US government catch terrorists to assisting companies monitor their employees and helping law enforcement detect possible offenders. A common thread that runs through both companies is their desperate need to make money and please investors – which, as it turns out, is at odds with protecting people’s privacy.

Summary

Palantir Technologies makes software that can sift through large datasets  and display data linkages and connections in spider web–like graphics.

PayPal co-founder and Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel founded Palantir Technologies in 2004. The company makes software that sifts through large datasets and displays data linkages and connections in spider web–like graphics.

 

 

The first Palantir customers were the US Pentagon and the CIA, which used the software to enhance battlefield intelligence and to catch insurgents and terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

When JPMorgan Chase contracted with Palantir to help identify employees who were abusing company assets, the firm's project leader began monitoring staff members...

About the Authors

Peter Waldman, Lizette Chapman and Jordan Robertson are reporters for Bloomberg Businessweek.


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