U.K. police deploy controversial AI surveillance tool built by Palantir

By lauraharris // 2025-06-20

Mastodon

Parler

Gab

Copy

British police forces, led by Bedfordshire Police, have contracted U.S. tech firm Palantir to pilot "Nectar," an AI system that compiles and analyzes sensitive personal data to support law enforcement.
Nectar merges data from 80 sources, including intelligence reports and traffic cameras, and processes 11 categories of sensitive information such as race, religion, political beliefs, health, sexuality and union membership.
Internal documents confirm the intention to expand Nectar nationwide to enhance policing capabilities, particularly in protecting vulnerable individuals and combating organized crime.
Senior MPs and privacy groups, including David Davis and Amnesty International, warn the system may lead to "indiscriminate mass surveillance" and lacks sufficient legal oversight and accountability.
The Trades Union Congress raised alarms over potential misuse of union membership data, citing a history of activist blacklisting and called for strict adherence to data protection laws.

British police forces have signed contracts with a controversial American tech company to use an AI-powered platform that processes highly sensitive personal data, including information on individuals' race, sex life, health, religion and political beliefs. An internal police memo obtained via freedom of information laws confirms plans to nationally deploy the AI system called Nectar. The technology, developed with Silicon Valley-based Palantir Technologies, is currently piloted by Bedfordshire Police and has already cost the force £1.4 million ($1.9 million) over the past two years. (Related: Big Government and Big Tech both want your biometric data.) The 34-page internal briefing outlines how Nectar merges around 80 different police data sources, from traffic cameras to intelligence reports, into one unified platform designed to generate real-time, detailed profiles on suspects, victims, witnesses and vulnerable individuals, including children. The document states the goal is to "eventually apply [Nectar] nationally" to "better protect vulnerable people by preventing, detecting and investigating crime." Nectar accesses 11 categories of "special category information" under U.K. data protection laws, reserved for particularly sensitive data. This includes race, political views, religious beliefs, health records, sexual orientation, sex life, union membership and biometric or genetic data. Some of this data may come from informants, financial records, dating profiles or social media posts and is often gathered under warrant. "We live in an age where vast amounts of information are available about almost everybody. One of the big problems we face is dealing with that body of information in a way that is both lawful and allows us to detect and prevent crime. This is not about indiscriminate snooping – access to this sort of data is really carefully controlled. But at the same time, we have to be equipped to do the job the public rightly expects us to," a police source said.

Senior MPs and privacy campaigners warn U.K. police that Nectar risks "indiscriminate mass surveillance"

In response to the launch, senior MPs and privacy campaigners have warned that the platform edges dangerously close to mass surveillance. David Davis MP, the former Conservative shadow home secretary, warned that the system risked enabling unchecked surveillance. "There is a real problem with technology being applied to policing without the necessary statutory underpinning and police simply appropriating the powers they want. There are lots and lots of reasons to be concerned by this [Nectar] software and it should be scrutinized by Parliament," he said. Amnesty International's David Nolan called the technology a potential "violation of the right to privacy," warning that it could amount to "indiscriminate mass surveillance." "The establishment and provision of data-driven law enforcement raises severe human rights concerns. The development of a 'real-time data-sharing network' across U.K. law enforcement agencies, that creates a 360 profile of individuals using sensitive personal data, violates people's right to privacy and establishes a system of indiscriminate mass surveillance," Nolan said. Moreover, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) expressed concern about Nectar's ability to process union membership data, citing historic blacklisting of trade unionists. "There is a long history of trade unionists being targeted simply for defending members' interests. It is vital that any processing of trade union information by police forces and others is done in accordance with data protection law," TUC Assistant General Secretary Kate Bell said. Visit PrivacyWatch.news to read more articles about the dangers of biometric data abuse. Watch the video below that talks about transhumanism, human bio-hacking and the end of times.

This video is from the Free 2 Shine channel on Brighteon.com.

CITIZENS NEWS

Senior MPs and privacy campaigners warn U.K. police that Nectar risks "indiscriminate mass surveillance"

More related stories: