Palantir reacts to controversial New York Times allegations

As the AI war between big tech companies continues to heat up, it’ll be no surprise to see big moves being made — and toes getting stepped on.

OpenAI is a perfect example of the type of disruptive tech company that will change the world, but not without some missteps on the way up.

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With OpenAI, the big complaint people have leveled is that its model steals people’s content from the internet and uses it to train their Large Language Models, or LLMs, without permission from the people who created that content.

In fact, The New York Times has sued OpenAI for this very thing.

Now, The Times is calling out another tech company for a project it’s completing for the U.S. government.

That company is Palantir  (PLTR) , the data analytics and AI software firm that’s getting more and more attention lately, thanks to its steadily rising stock and AI expertise.

According to The Times, a Palantir product called Foundry has been added to four federal agencies, including DHS and the Health and Human Services Department, as reported to them by government officials.

Foundry is used to organize and analyze data, and The Times quotes sources that allege Trump could use it to further his own political agenda.

The rise of Palantir

While other big tech stocks have wobbled in the headwinds of President Trump’s tariffs, Palantir has continued to prove itself as one to watch.

Originally a data analytics and enterprise software company, Palantir has since moved into other markets, one being supplying defense contracting technology to the U.S. military.

The New York Times report published May 30 states that in addition to Palantir’s work with the Trump Administration using Foundry, Palantir has received more than $113 million in federal funding, according to public record, and that Palantir representatives are also in talks with the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service about buying its technology.

Related: Palantir stock makes history as analysts revamp price target

“Mr. Trump could potentially use such information to advance his political agenda by policing immigrants and punishing critics, Democratic lawmakers and critics have said,” The NYT story reads. 

“Privacy advocates, student unions, and labor rights organizations have filed lawsuits to block data access, questioning whether the government could weaponize people’s personal information.”

The article also claims that some Palantir employees have been made uneasy by the company’s decision to work with the Trump administration and that it “risks becoming the face of Mr. Trump’s political agenda.”

Palantir strikes back at NYT

Palantir addressed the NYT story in a tweet shared on X on June 3, denying the allegations.

“The recently published article by The New York Times is blatantly untrue,” the tweet reads. “Palantir never collects data to unlawfully surveil Americans, and our Foundry platform employs granular security protections. If the facts were on its side, The New York Times would not have needed to twist the truth.”

People had mixed reactions to the statement in the tweet thread, with some believing in Palantir and some less than convinced by what the company had to say.

“Palantir is trusted by top military and intelligence organizations. How can people believe it has poor security protections?” said X user @sageozzeus.

X user DanielvsBabylon was quick to point out the use of a specific word in the statement, saying, “‘Unlawfully,’ which means they operate in a legal grey area.”

Some users went into even more detail. 

“Stating that you don’t ‘unlawfully’ surveil Americans is deliberately evasive,” X user @DoniTheMisfit said. “It doesn’t deny surveillance — it simply implies government authorization, which is not the same as public consent or constitutional legitimacy.”

“Likewise, referencing ‘granular security protections’ does not equate to individual privacy. It signals internal control over data — not limits on its collection or use. This isn’t transparency — it’s calculated language meant to deflect scrutiny while maintaining centralized access to sensitive information.”

Related: Palantir leader has shocking take on Elon Musk and DOGE

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