Caution issued over law enforcement tool "Palantir"
Status of Constitutional Complaints Against Palantir Gotham in Germany
In the German federal states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the use of Palantir Gotham—a data analysis software developed by the Palantir company—is under legal scrutiny. As of late July 2025, constitutional complaints have been lodged against both states' deployments of the software, raising concerns about privacy, transparency, and proportionality.
Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia
In Bavaria, the Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) has filed a constitutional complaint against police deployments of Palantir, with the support of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC). The complaint argues that automated mass analysis of data previously collected for different purposes is not compatible with fundamental rights, especially due to the opacity of Palantir’s software and the resulting dependency on a foreign provider. The GFF also asserts that Bavarian authorities have ignored surveillance limits set by the Federal Constitutional Court in previous rulings concerning similar systems in Hesse and Hamburg.
In NRW, a comparable system called the "cross-database analysis and evaluation" (DAR) is also based on Palantir Gotham. The GFF has filed a separate constitutional complaint against the NRW Police Act, but as of now, the court has not ruled on this complaint; it remains pending.
Legal Precedents and Broader Context
The Federal Constitutional Court has already found automated data analysis for investigative purposes in Hesse and Hamburg unconstitutional in their current form. These precedents set clear limits, but the status quo in Bavaria and NRW suggests that lawmakers and police are pushing ahead with the technology despite criticism and ongoing legal challenges.
Key Criticisms
- Mass data linkage: The CCC and GFF argue that linking previously separate datasets—collected for unrelated purposes—constitutes a “dragnet search” affecting a vast number of people, raising constitutional concerns about privacy and proportionality.
- Opaque software and vendor lock-in: Relying on Palantir’s proprietary system restricts transparency and creates long-term dependency on a single provider.
- Non-compliance with surveillance limits: The GFF claims that Bavarian authorities have not adhered to the surveillance limits already set by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Summary Table
| State | Status of Complaint | Key Issues | Next Steps | |---------------|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------| | Bavaria | Filed (GFF and CCC) | Mass data linkage, vendor lock-in, surveillance | Awaiting court decision | | NRW | Filed (GFF), pending | Similar to Bavaria | Awaiting court decision | | Hesse/Hamburg | Ruled unconstitutional[1] | Automated data analysis | N/A |
In summary: Constitutional complaints against the use of Palantir Gotham in Bavarian and NRW law enforcement are pending, with no final rulings as of late July 2025[1]. The outcome will likely hinge on whether these states’ systems can meet the stricter proportionality and transparency standards set by recent Federal Constitutional Court decisions in similar cases[1].
The SPD opposition in NRW demands a new tender for Palantir, with SPD vice Müller-Witt emphasizing that a long-term extension with Palantir by the state government should not happen. A constitutional complaint against the current law for the use of Palantir Gotham in NRW is currently pending before the Federal Constitutional Court, with a decision expected this year.
Peter Thiel, the controversial co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, holds stakes in numerous services, including Spotify and N26. The software has been in use in NRW since 2022 under the name "Cross-database research and analysis," with around 39 million euros incurred since the start of the project, including costs for servers and consulting. The license costs for Palantir Gotham in NRW are around six million euros per year.
Other federal states are more cautious about Palantir, and some states have not mentioned Palantir at the insistence of certain parties. The SPD calls for starting a debate on a European solution for data analysis software, with SPD vice Müller-Witt appealing to NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul to start a Bundesrat initiative to initiate a European solution.
- Given the recent trend of constitutional complaints against the use of Palantir Gotham in German federal states, it appears that concerns about privacy, transparency, and proportionality in the finance, technology, and political sectors might intensify as these cases progress.
- The SPD opposition in North Rhine-Westphalia has requested a new tender for Palantir, advocating against a long-term extension of the contract with the state government due to ongoing concerns about the software's opacity and vendor lock-in in the technology sphere.
