Over 44,000 individuals have formally lodged data protection objections against the National Health Service’s use of a Palantir-operated data platform, invoking rights under UK data protection regulations. The objections require the NHS to cease processing these individuals’ medical information unless officials can demonstrate a compelling justification for continued use.
The coordinated campaign reflects broader public opposition to a £330 million NHS contract with Palantir Technologies. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions demanding the government terminate the arrangement, and two parliamentary select committees have recommended Labour invoke a break clause in the seven-year agreement set to begin in February 2027. The deal has drawn criticism from various quarters, including objections to Palantir’s work with Israeli military operations and US immigration enforcement agencies. NHS England’s leadership is expected to make a determination regarding the contract within months.
Advocacy groups and protesters have raised two main categories of concern. One focuses on Palantir’s external activities, with human rights organizations and demonstrators objecting to the company’s involvement in operations in Gaza and immigration-related work in the United States. The second involves questions about the platform’s actual health benefits. Some observers, including NHS officials, have questioned whether the claimed improvements to care delivery and efficiency are as substantial as promoted.
Palantir has defended the Federated Data Platform’s effectiveness, citing operational metrics including 117,000 additional procedures, reduced discharge delays, and faster cancer diagnosis outcomes. Company representatives have also stated that patient data remains under NHS control within the UK and can only be accessed per NHS directions. The company has characterized criticism as exaggerated, though executives have made controversial statements regarding operations in conflict zones.
NHS England stated that participating organizations retain control of their data within the system and that the agency will address the objection requests according to applicable data protection legislation. The objectors have additionally requested that the NHS suspend processing of their information through the platform pending assessment of their primary concerns.
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