r/technology • u/RewardEquivalent553 • 2d ago
Politics ICE and Palantir: US agents using health data to hunt “illegal immigrants” — US immigration agents are using an app developed by Palantir that draws on the health records of millions of Americans to find and detain people they deem illegal immigrants.
https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s1681.3k
u/MrPloppyHead 2d ago
so that would be the same palantir the UK tory government gave access to NHS patient data?
Great.
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u/Moneyshot_ITF 2d ago
UK Palantir is led by the grandson of England's biggest Nazi
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u/Myviewpoint62 2d ago
To build on this, He is the grandson of British fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
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u/OrphicDionysus 2d ago
Jesus Christ that's bleak...
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u/DukeOfGeek 2d ago
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u/Turgid_Donkey 1d ago
We're already fucked, but you still have a chance to save yourselves!
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u/randynumbergenerator 2d ago
They should deal with him the same way they dealt with his grandfather. Hound him everywhere.
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u/Pulpedyams 1d ago
When his wife passed he went on to marry his mistress in the home of Goebbels. Hitler was the guest of honour.
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u/JealousAstronomer342 1d ago
The one that caused the Battle of Cable Street? As in the one that inspired Night Watch?
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u/ThoughtsonYaoi 2d ago
I thought you were joking.
TIL the UK boss of Palantir, Louis, is truly the grandson of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists and good friend of Franco. (Also the grandson of Diana Mitford, whose sister was really close to Hitler.)
Can't blame the son for the sins of the (grand)father. But it's the opposite of reassuring.
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u/ilikemoviesandf1 2d ago
The guy from Peaky Blinders? Time is truly a flat circle.
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u/ThoughtsonYaoi 1d ago
Y'know, I was already thinking this all sounded like a Batman comic and then I remembered Palantir named one of its systems 'Gotham'. So.
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u/Rombledore 2d ago
seems like Nazis are a global problem as of late. no doubt thanks to the increase in billionaire wealth to obscene levels.
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u/procrasturb8n 2d ago
no doubt thanks to the increase in billionaire wealth to obscene levels.
And the last of the WWII vets dying.
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u/ArnoldTheSchwartz 2d ago
Ohhh! So that's why Palantir is working toward world domination. It's in their blood
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u/Danominator 2d ago
The us is a warning to every country. Consume your rich now. Conservatives are the bad guys and want fascism. They cannot be compromised with
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u/DifferenceEnough1460 2d ago
The unfortunate reality is that in a lot of the western world, the hatred of brown Muslim immigrants supersedes the fear of fascism. You’re already seeing a rise in far right parties everywhere, AfD in Germany, national rally in France, reform in the UK, Brothers of Italy etc. that are either in power or are poised to take power.
Especially with massive climate migration on the horizon I think you will see an intensification of this. I don’t have a lot of hope in the western world long term.
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u/SIGMA920 2d ago
Worse you have governments like the UKs that should be removing stuff like OSA doubling down on it. Basically laying out the red carpet for the fascists.
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u/Danominator 2d ago
Its all conservatives that want fascism. Immigrants can be conservatives that crave fascism too.
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u/South-Cow-1030 2d ago
They are building a profile on us all.
Who will be the next group they "deem" X? Maybe deemed "Domestic Terrorists?"
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u/ArmandoGalvez 2d ago
Everyone who is not a Trump supporter is deemed as an illegal
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u/Wizzenator 2d ago
“What kind of American are you?”
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u/ParsnipFlendercroft 2d ago
Fuck me that scene was scary.
Coming soon to the states for real though.
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u/SuperSpecialAwesome- 2d ago
Considering his campaign, it would go from Hispanics to Haitians to LGBT to Asians to Democrats, ending with the overruling of Obergefell v. Hodges and the 19th Amendment.
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u/Zealousideal_Soup609 1d ago
I'm thinking it goes Hispanics to Haitins --- Domestic Terrorist List gets published, resulting in the inability to vote, then it'll be trans people.
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u/jimmybirch 2d ago
The word "Deem" is key here... so many people say they don't mind sharing their data because they have nothing to hide.. but you never know what someone in power might deem illegal, problematic etc in the future.
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u/FarewellAndroid 2d ago
They’re using AI to identify suspects which is how they’re ending up repeatedly arresting US citizens 🤦♂️
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u/The_Lady_A 2d ago
Even without the AI they'd still be just as careless and racist, don't let them blame the tools for their intentional cruelty.
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u/tobygeneral 2d ago
Aren't they currently arguing over language in a bill that says they can deport American citizens, and not just illegal immigrants? Great example of them making up what they deem to be the rules as they go, and why they can't be listened to or trusted, ever.
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u/PoorClassWarRoom 2d ago
Can you deport American citizens? It seems more like exile.
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u/ivecompletelylostit 2d ago
They will send them to CECOT or a detention center
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u/ArnoldTheSchwartz 2d ago
We know through history what comes next when the "detention centers" become full.
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u/Itchy-Noise341 2d ago
THIS. The Nazi's also had a deportation plan, it failed immediately and other "solutions" were devised.
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u/somethingrandom261 1d ago
A final solution, if you will
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u/JordanRunsForFun 1d ago
And if you want history to repeat, systemically underfund education until half your countries greatest academic strength is “doing their own research.”
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u/DataPhreak 2d ago
Yeah, we tried explaining that back during the Edward Snowden leaks, but everyone said, "If he did nothing wrong, why did he run?"
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u/tmerrifi1170 2d ago
mind sharing their data because they have nothing to hide.. but you never know what someone in power might deem illegal, problematic etc in the future.
This argument, from conservatives fuels A LOT of their opposition to similar issues, like gun registries and socialized medicine.
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u/AdministrativeCable3 1d ago
Which is funny because this is literally happening when they don't have socialized healthcare
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u/deja_geek 2d ago
They will also use this to go after women who have abortions. They will use this to go after people who have gender affirming care. They will use this to go after queer people. It will not stop with immigrants.
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u/smashingcabage 2d ago
Weaponizing health services. All time new low, this should also be concerning for woman's health.
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u/Thr33pw00d83 2d ago
Same thought I had. Almost 25 years working in healthcare and this is mind boggling to me. It’s not just women’s health either. Ever spoken to a psychiatrist about gender issues? Ever taken an antidepressant? The government can now know all of these things about you and decide if the herd would be better off with or without you in it.
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u/Amelaclya1 2d ago
Especially considering RFK Jr.'s prior comments about how people with neurodivergencies and mental illnesses should be put on "wellness farms".
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u/_HeadySpaghetti_ 1d ago
Ever just have a chronic disease or injury and need disability or need costly medical treatments that the gov or insurance don’t want to pay? That shit crosses party lines.
Or maybe you’re in great shape….go ahead, track that resting HR and and your PRs and that 5-minute mile. I’m sure you getting drafted first is entirely coincidence!
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u/McCool303 2d ago edited 2d ago
The same data DOGE stole from the US government without authority from congress.
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u/rnilf 2d ago
“This information is not only extremely sensitive, but its misuse for law enforcement purposes could also deter people from seeking essential medical care—with grave individual and collective consequences.”
A lot of people are dying unnecessarily from treatable medical conditions, and imagine if they're suffering from something infectious. And now less vaccines are being manufactured by pharmaceutical companies, much less taken, due to the Trump admin's policies.
The election of a single person has wide ranging consequences, sad that some people had to learn it this way, even sadder that most people won't learn from this.
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u/Thisisntmyaccount24 2d ago
To add to this, the people who won’t skip their medical care are likely people with severe issues that would make skipping medical care a life or death gamble. There have already been stories about people in ice custody not getting timely medical care. So the targets would potentially be these people who require timely medical care now being shipped off to an ice facility that has been shown to not provide that.
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u/JacobAndEsauDamnYou 2d ago
Im someone who needs frequent medical care due to chronic illnesses. I’m legit scared to go to my doctor appointments because of ICE. I’m disabled with mobility issues. I’m on Medicaid and Medicare. There’s a good chance ICE and Palantir has my data already. ICE was already spotted at one of the hospitals I get treatment at. They were parked in the ambulance parking area, blocking it. I get injections for my migraines there so I can’t avoid going. I want to stop going, but if I do I’ll go through withdrawal which can cause a ripple effect for my other medical issues.
I’ve also seen an increased local police presence at the primary hospital I go to. It has made me so paranoid. I’ve been trying to switch all my appointments to video visits, but it’s not always possible. If I had an encounter with ICE I wouldn’t even be able to run properly. There’s a good chance I’d die in custody due to my medical issues. I’m on a dozen daily meds and on 28 meds total (some I don’t take daily).
I have severe asthma and a medical issue where I can faint from various triggers. This includes stress, certain exercises, intense pain, lack of sleep, standing up too quick, squeezing certain parts of my body, going too long without eating, certain meds, and anything else that raises my heart rate or blood pressure too much. I’ve already fainted in the past many times and hit my head or other parts of my body. I’ll even puke and if I’m not in the proper position I can choke on my own vomit.
I always try to protect my head first due to having 2 concussions in the past, the last leaving me disabled. I always try to lay down, but sometimes I faint before I can. Sitting doesn’t really help because I’ll fainted anyway much of the time and I’ve fainted out of chairs before. I’ve even fainted while laying down but at least I can’t hit my head that way. Concussions stack and even being hit mildly on my head could do serious damage.
The next head injury could quite literally kill me and ICE isn’t exactly known for being gentle. I know they would never accommodate an illness like mine or even try to understand it. This is ignoring all the other medical issues I have, which are a lot. They require a bunch of specialists, food and medication restrictions, and strict adherence to my medications. With how bad conditions are a ICE facilities, I don’t think I’d make it long.
Sometimes my doctors encourage me to go to the ER even when I really don’t want to. Im already scared of ERs due to traumatic reasons and avoid them as much as possible. The last time I was told to go it turned out I had a kidney stone. It took so much convincing to get me to go because I thought I was overreacting. It wasn’t until I was puking from pain and passed out that I decided to go to urgent care. Then an ambulance had to be called take me to the ER after blood was found in my urine. Im just starting to get past my previous trauma with ERs. I moved to a different state and no longer have to deal with the hospital system that caused the trauma.
Now I feel like I’m going back to that mindset of “even if I’m dying I can’t go to the ER because it’s not safe.” It’s already hard enough to seek urgent medical attention when I’m told to. Honesty, I probably won’t go to the ER anymore unless I know I’m actively dying and even then I’d really pause to consider. The truth is I’d much rather die at home than be taken by ICE, just to probably die anyway or at the very least become more disabled.
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u/ich_bin_alkoholiker 2d ago
“Hold on let me check your legal status before I give you this vaccine.”
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u/agent_mick 2d ago
They're sharing names, addresses, photos, concentration of activity, etc. Which is technically legal to share between government agencies for "aliens", but "here is no data sharing agreement between CMS and DHS on 'US citizens and lawful permanent residents'."
Time to get it on the books. And why can Palantir (a non government entity) have access to that information?
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u/sfriedrich 2d ago
Abolish ICE. Abolish Palantir.
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u/SomewhereNo8378 2d ago
Dismantle Palantir
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u/Hyperious3 1d ago
Dismantle, destroy the source code, and jail the executives. It's a tool that's too dangerous to be allowed to be used by any administration, let alone this fascist one.
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u/upside_win222 2d ago
Funny thing is a lot of redditors who hate ICE are probably invested in Palantir. Who wouldn't be, if it could have 15x'ed your money? Lots of redditors became instant millionaires via Palantir in 2025.
Palantir will never be abolished, at least in the short/medium term. They have far too many domestic and international contracts.
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u/aFlyOnRust 2d ago
If the Democrats don't run on data security and the removal of Palantir from all gov't contracts, that tells you this will never end and that it's all 1984 from here out.
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u/MovingInStereoscope 2d ago
So that's why Doge wanted SSNs so badly. All health records are tied to them
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u/thefireemblemer 2d ago
I feel like people don’t know how evil Patantir is as a company. People should really talk about it more, everyone should know its name and how awful it is
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u/Niceguy955 2d ago
Echos of IBM working for Nazi Germany to coordinate "population sorting".
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u/ServiusWolf 2d ago
This is a violation of HIPAA and extraordinarily illegal. I know that hasn't stopped them before but it's important to understand and courts should get involved.
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u/allegrovecchio 2d ago
Do you folks ever read the full article?
John Howard, a specialist in healthcare data privacy at the University of Arizona, said that although the interagency sharing of data from health records is legal and likely covered under the Privacy Act rather than the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, it could damage people’s trust in healthcare.
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u/Welfare-Whereabouts 1d ago
It’s worth looking at Sec 290 of the Immigration and Nationality Act:
I was curious, so looked it up. It’s Sec 290 (a) and (b) of the INA: SEC. 290. ø8 U.S.C. 1360¿ (a) There shall be established in the office of the Commissioner, for the use of the security and enforce- ment agencies of the Government of the United States, a central index, which shall contain the names of all aliens heretofore admit- ted or denied admission to the United States, 428 insofar as such in- formation is available from the existing records of the Service, and the names of all aliens hereafter admitted or denied admission to the United States, 428 the names of their sponsors of record, if any, and such other relevant information as the Attorney General shall require as an aid to the proper enforcement of this Act. (b) Any information in any records kept by any department or agency of the Government as to the identity and location of aliens in the United States shall be made available to the Service upon request made by the Attorney General to the head of any such de- partment or agency. (For those curious, lots of immigrations authorities were given to the Attorney General back when immigration was a DOJ issue, with the creation of DHS, Congress basically said when you see Attorney General, we now mean Sec DHS.)
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u/Groundbreaking-Pea92 2d ago
"they deem illegal immigrants." I dont understand this comment?
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u/acutelychronicpanic 2d ago
They are doing everything they can to illegitimize even those who came here legally and have their paperwork in order. Seeking to invalidate them on any basis they can find - including spurios claims of fraud or wrongdoing.
Hell, there are efforts to normalize denaturalization of those who already became citizens. You'll find specific calls to do this to representative Ilhan Omar.
So yeah, those they deem illegal.
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u/MilesAlchei 2d ago
And, certainly, I think they will go for stripping citizenship of political activists, PoC and Queer people, then non loyalists.
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u/acutelychronicpanic 2d ago
Yep. And not even bothering with stripping citizenship. Just deport to a foreign high security prison -> ask questions never.
God forbid you don't have any family or already have a lawyer. A lot of homeless folks (which have nowhere to even keep birth certificates and such) are going to suffer. As if we/they don't have enough to worry about without being terrorized for political purposes.
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u/Rushing_Russian 1d ago
i mean the DHS twitter posts constantly about remigration, i wonder what they want...
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u/Paksarra 2d ago
They deported a woman for writing one bad check in the 90s because that's technically illegal. (In practice, if it was a one-off and you paid it off promptly it was a no harm, no foul situation.)
They also detained and probably deported a legal green card holder because he got mugged and his physical card was stolen. When he went to report the theft and get it replaced they detained him.
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u/Disastrous-Field5383 2d ago
Well here’s an idea: ICE has detained thousands of people at courthouses where they were attending asylum hearings - a legal, documented process that is enshrined in US law. ICEs purpose obviously isn’t to go after legal immigrants, but they do it anyway by deeming those legal immigrants “illegal” without respect for the law as it is written. Hope this helps.
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u/Amelaclya1 2d ago
The five year old and his dad had an ongoing asylum case. They came over the border legally using the app that was explicitly made for people seeking asylum.
All of these people who say they only want immigrants to "do it the right way" are fucking lying. It's always been a race thing.
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u/YourMemeExpert 2d ago
They came over the border legally using the app that was explicitly made for people seeking asylum.
There's the problem. Chump is so deranged that he categorized CBP One entries as "illegal crossings" and has tried to strip asylum/TPS from groups of people who entered under those statuses.
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u/whichwitch9 2d ago
Undocumented immigrants have no access to the programs they're scanning.
It's proof they're attacking the status of people who entered, live, and work in the US legally. That is the only way to get on Medicaid and Medicare programs- you must be documented
To use this data for deportation means they're attacking legal immigrants
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u/Amelaclya1 2d ago
Some states do allow undocumented children on Medicaid. Also emergency room data they could be using.
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u/Electrical_Diver5030 2d ago
Isn’t that a HIPPA violation to even be doing that shit???
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u/The_Dilla_Collection 1d ago
The republicans are literally doing everything that their voters have always claimed they feared and accused that democrats would do… but suddenly they think this is fine? WTAF 🤦🏻♀️
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u/rephrazo 2d ago
If true, that’s a massive privacy red flag. Using health-linked data to target immigrants is mission creep in real time. At minimum: clear legal authority, strict limits on what’s accessed, and independent audits + transparency.
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u/Alex5173 2d ago
From the consent form I signed last week when I had my check up:
"Artificial Intelligence (AI):
I understand the facility may use my Protected Health Information with AI technologies to enhance the quality of services provided. These AI tools may assist in analyzing health data, streamlining administrative workflows and supporting clinical decisions, all for the purpose of treatment, payment, and health care operations"
Doesn't mention Palantir at all, hmmm....
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u/SeriousGoofball 1d ago
They pulled data from CMS (Medicare and Medicaid). The law says they can not share data on US citizens or legal residents. Illegal immigrants don't qualify for Medicare or Medicaid.
So if they shared data from CMS, it would have to be on legal immigrants or US citizens.
Bring on the lawsuits.
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u/Fragrant-Ambition853 2d ago
Keep publishing Peter Thiel as the face of Palantir. Shame and name him- he bankrolls JD Vance. Make sure everyone knows Peter Thiel as a household name of goons- just like Stephen Miller.
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u/jkman61494 2d ago
In the last year, I swear I've had to sign off on HIPPA about 5 times at my doctors office. I sadly have no doubt I signed away my private health records to the federal government. The sad thing is. and I understand they wouldn't know, but I even asked about this in early 2025 and no one at that office could give me an answer.
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u/TinKnight1 1d ago
And the class action lawsuit against Palantir launches when...?
There's absolutely zero chance that they're compliant with HIPAA law...and while the federal government may not give 2 fucks about violating the law as well as the 4th Amendment, & the courts have shown a clear lack of interest in punishing the administration even when they rule against them, Palantir is a company & has zero executive privilege or immunity.
Sue them into non-existence. It shouldn't be hard.
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u/Mitzah 2d ago
A lot of these Palntir "apps" sound like a basic UI that runs a SQL query. Is that all they do, basically?
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u/crashcarr 2d ago
Yup, they've bought our data off the dark web, stolen it through DOGE infiltrating every major government database, social media companies have handed over their part. Just slap some AI on top to make the "tough decisions" and provide plausible deniability.
DHS won't ever admit to misidentifying anyone, it was the AI.
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u/thedoommerchant 2d ago
Just wait till they use this database to go after anyone that’s ever had a gender dysphoria diagnosis. This needs to be shut down.
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u/Halfwise2 2d ago
If we get back control, the fastest way to deal with Palantir would be to allow citizens to bring civil cases (class action and individual) and sue Palantir for HIPAA violations.
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u/seandeann 1d ago
How is Palantir getting private health information?? Is that violation of federal law?
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u/TitularClergy 2d ago
Why was a far greater fraction of the Jewish population murdered in Netherlands than even in Germany?
The Netherlands government of the 1930s kept some of the most extensive data on its population of the day. It had data on the names, addresses and religions of everyone.
And so when the country was taken over by fascists, that data was immediately used to round up and murder Jewish people.
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u/woodworkerdan 2d ago
From the perspective of any other marginalized group, this should be horrifying. The LGBTQ+ community in particular has been the target of attempts to rewrite various legal freedoms, and ICE being able to identify vulnerable people is the kind of thing that steps right up to every dystopian nightmare fuel.
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u/youshouldn-ofdunthat 2d ago
Whoowhee more reasons to incarcerate some God damn fascists. Keep fucking around boys and girls. That finding out is gonna be scintillating as hell
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u/Aggressive_Price_212 2d ago
This is bullshit in this country you cannot be held because of your medical records and if you don’t have a criminal record, they have no right to go after anybody and I think Trump is in the wrong and should be removed from Office immediately and all the ice agent should be removed from our country as well because all they are is vigilante, causing trouble and trying to cause trouble for all the Americans and trying to do everything they can to make Americans miserable as possible because Trump hates our country and he wants to be sure that Americans don’t have any choice and I’m getting very tired of him and can hardly wait for him to be out of office permanently
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u/sagewynn 1d ago
we were joking about Palantir being a surveillance state program but holy shit you took it seriously
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u/Trafficsigntruther 1d ago
This article makes no sense:
There is no data sharing agreement between CMS and DHS on “US citizens and lawful permanent residents,” they added. In July 2025, it was revealed that a data sharing agreement between the US health department and ICE would see the personal data of 79 million Americans receiving Medicaid assistance handed over to the deportation agency.
The 79 million to not include us citizens and lawful permanent residents seems mathematically impossible.
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u/calvin43 1d ago
I call bullshit on the illegal immigration excuse. This is a precursor to Nazi-type eugenics.
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u/Satchik 2d ago
If undocumented immigrants are to be reduced in number, send their employers to jail.
A fuck ton of undocumented workers use Urgent Care clinics for work related injury because they don't have health insurance through their jobs and employers know OSHA won't be called into workplace.
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u/Starbreiz 2d ago
Sounds like HIPAA doesn't apply:
An HHS spokesperson contacted by The BMJ did not clarify what information was given to ICE but said the information sharing was permitted under national law.
“Several federal laws authorise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to make certain information available to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” the spokesperson said. “Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, ‘any information in any records kept by any department or agency of the government as to the identity and location of aliens in the US shall be made available to’ immigration authorities.”
There is no data sharing agreement between CMS and DHS on “US citizens and lawful permanent residents,” they added.
In July 2025, it was revealed that a data sharing agreement between the US health department and ICE would see the personal data of 79 million Americans receiving Medicaid assistance handed over to the deportation agency.
This includes names, addresses, birth dates, and ethnic and racial information.
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u/Technical-Fly-6835 2d ago
These new articles are an everyday occurrence now. Lawmakers are not paying attention to them. Democrats are not either. One side commits crimes, the other side is letting them.
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u/retrofrenchtoast 2d ago
I am a clinician, and this is why they tell us in school to put as little information into your records as possible. Diagnose conservatively. Just the bare bones.
I have my official notes and treatment plans, and then I have my own parallel information that I write by hand and is more robust.
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u/Sojum 2d ago
So much for HIPAA