NYPD Counterterrorism Unit Begins Using Palantir for Surveillance Operations

In 2010, the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism division began using Palantir Technologies’ data analysis platform, marking a major expansion of the company’s footprint in domestic law enforcement. Richard Falkenrath, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of counterterrorism, mentioned the department’s use of Palantir during a presentation at the company in 2010, though the full details of NYPD’s contract with Palantir remained secret from public disclosure.

The NYPD deployment represented Palantir’s entry into one of the nation’s largest and most sophisticated police departments. The NYPD had built an extensive intelligence apparatus following 9/11, including controversial programs for monitoring Muslim communities without warrants or specific threats. Palantir’s platform provided the NYPD with powerful capabilities for integrating data from multiple sources and identifying patterns across vast datasets.

Funding for the Palantir technology came partly through the New York City Police Foundation, a private nonprofit that accepts donations from corporations and wealthy individuals to purchase equipment for the NYPD. This arrangement allowed the department to acquire surveillance technology without full public disclosure or city council approval. Palantir donated thousands of dollars to the police foundation and received millions of dollars in contracts from the department over subsequent years.

The NYPD’s contract with Palantir was kept secret from public disclosure. When Gizmodo filed a records request for the contract in 2016, it was rejected on grounds that disclosure would constitute an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” and would reveal “non-routine techniques and procedures.” This secrecy prevented public oversight of how the surveillance technology was being used and what data sources were being integrated.

In 2010, the same year NYPD began using Palantir, the department also referred Palantir to JPMorgan Chase, helping the company land its first major commercial client outside of government. This referral demonstrated the close relationship between NYPD leadership and Palantir, with the police department effectively acting as a reference and sales agent for the private surveillance company.

The NYPD deployment established a pattern that would repeat across the country: Palantir entering major police departments through counterterrorism or intelligence units, funded partly by private donations that bypass normal procurement oversight, with contracts kept secret from public disclosure. Civil liberties advocates raised concerns that the same powerful surveillance tools developed for tracking foreign terrorists were now being deployed against American residents, particularly marginalized communities, with minimal transparency or accountability.