Share this page!

Foxglove Profile picture
Twitter logo
3 Jun, 7 tweets, 4 min read
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: #NoPalantir in our NHS!

Today, 52 organisations formed a coalition to tell @BorisJohnson, @MattHancock & the government to #DropPalantir from our NHS.

We’re asking everyone to join us in doing the same: nopalantir.org.uk

[THREAD]
Palantir, whom you might remember from 🍉 cocktail fame, is using COVID-19 to get their hooks into our NHS. They were brought in without public consultation or open procurement, and we had to threaten a lawsuit to get information about their data deal:
Why does this matter?

Time and again Palantir’s tech has been used to harm, not heal. Founded by Trump-backing Peter Thiel, they’ve enabled some of the worst actions of the US surveillance state - from border forces to police.

A firm like that has no place in our NHS.
Trust is the heart of our NHS. Without trust, there is no public health. Today at 5PM, we will hear from @labourlewis, @libertyhq, @everydoctorUK, @migrants_rights & others on why Palantir’s presence in the NHS undermines this very principle.

Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk/e/no-palantir-…
Palantir’s presence in the NHS poses a deeper question about its future - who gets to access our medical data and how? Should the NHS partner w/ a firm that says it wants to be in “every missile and every drone”- or should it manage health data in a way everyone can trust?
This issue is now urgent. The government is rushing through a scheme that will scrape the confidential health info of every man, woman, and child in England into a single data set - and NHS Digital have refused to rule out Palantir managing that data:

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9…
You can join us today in calling for Palantir to be dropped from the NHS - and for the future of health data to keep faith with patient trust:
nopalantir.org.uk

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Foxglove

Foxglove Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Foxglovelegal

Foxglove Profile picture
5 Jun
☀️Morning!☀️ There’s been a TON of news in our NHS GP data grab case – here’s the latest for people catching up.

First, we teamed up with five organisations and an MP to take this scheme to court and try to win everyone more time:

ft.com/content/a13225…
Then, the @rcgp and @TheBMA_UK called for a pause to the scheme and said it risked a repeat of the care.data fiasco.

Doctors have weighed in and said this thing needs to be stopped.

Will Hancock listen?
theregister.com/2021/06/04/bma…
There IS no public health without public trust – so we were also v concerned when the gov’t wouldn’t rule out dodgy US tech companies like Palantir being given contracts to manage this giant new pool of confidential patient data:

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9…
Read 6 tweets
Foxglove Profile picture
4 Jun
BREAKING: We’ve built a huge team to take the GP data grab to court – but we need your help.

@JustTreatment, @TheDA_UK, @allthecitizens, @NPCUK, @openDemocracy, and @daviddavisMP are fighting for people’s right to a say in the use of their health record: crowdjustice.com/case/stop-the-…
Time is running out. The deadline to opt out is 23 June. Most people haven’t heard of the scheme. The gov’t hasn’t properly informed or involved patients.

If they don’t fix it, we’ve got to go for an injunction ASAP. We sent an urgent legal letter: ft.com/content/a13225…
Our coalition says the process for scraping 55m people’s confidential health records and putting in a central database has been rushed and unfair – and is unlawful.

Unless the scheme is stopped and changed, we will take the government to court.
Read 12 tweets
Foxglove Profile picture
26 May
⏰BREAKING: HMG quietly rolled out a scheme to seize - & sell access to - the health data of every man, woman, and child in England. Patients weren’t asked.
Legal issues? We think so. So we helped @JustTreatment send a legal letter.
@madhumita29 in @FT: ft.com/content/9fee81…
In many ways, this fight is about the future of the NHS.

The NHS sits atop the most valuable trove of health data in the world. Why? For years, your GP record has been stored not in doctor's scrawled notes but using GP codes, which a computer can 'read'. (h/t @marcus_baw)
This makes NHS health data of *massive* interest to researchers. So far, so good - we all want the NHS to come out of the pandemic stronger.

But there are issues: who gets access? On what terms? Who can patients trust? And who benefits – us, the NHS, or private companies?
Read 7 tweets
Foxglove Profile picture
30 Mar
📢NEW📢: we've won the Palantir case!

At last, officials admit YOU have a right to a say in long-term deals between the NHS and US tech firms like Palantir.

It only took us a year, thousands of you speaking up, and two court cases with @openDemocracy to get there!
Here’s our write-up by @martyftz and @cori_crider.

They’ve hit pause – they won’t extend Palantir’s NHS role beyond Covid without stopping to consider our rights, and ask.

This is a major step. NHS now says they’ll consult the public.

opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/weve…
Special mention to our friends at @TBIJ who obtained key emails at the start of this case, showing Palantir wooing NHS execs and UK officials over Davos chats and watermelon cocktails.

thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2021-0…
Read 9 tweets
Foxglove Profile picture
29 Mar
🔥NEW: You can’t run a government by disappearing message.

1/ When @BorisJohnson texts @MattHancock or @pritipatel over WhatsApp or Signal, he may be breaking UK law.

We've teamed up with @allthecitizens for a legal action.@jimwaterson has the story:

theguardian.com/law/2021/mar/2…
2/ We love @signalapp. (We used to use @WhatsApp lots until Facebook took our data!)

Disappearing messages are great for us, the citizens. They're not appropriate for officials.

Why, you ask?
3/ Simple. The Public Records Act 1958 requires officials to review every message about the formulation of government policy to perform a legal check – in case it needs to be archived for public release.

If the message explodes, the check can never happen.
Read 8 tweets
Foxglove Profile picture
24 Feb
🚨 NEW: We’ve filed a lawsuit with @openDemocracy defending YOUR right to a say about data deals between the NHS and Big Tech.

@Rowlsmanthorpe has the story, for @SkyNews.

Saddle up, people! 🏇 [THREAD] -

news.sky.com/story/nhs-faci…
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen private firms creep into our public institutions at a shocking rate – through chummy, opaque backdoor deals.

One such deal was with @PalantirTech - a shady data firm that mainly works with the CIA, US cops, and ICE.

opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/cont…
Last year, the government signed the largest data deal in history between the NHS and giant tech firms – like Palantir and Faculty, a British AI start-up involved with the Vote Leave campaign.

We took legal action and, with your support, forced them to publish the contracts.
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @Foxglovelegal has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @Foxglovelegal!

Read all threads by @Foxglovelegal

:(