Comment by nerdjon
10 days ago
I am all for criticizing and pointing fingers at trump and this entire administration.
But it does say they have been working with ICE for “years” in the article. What is not really clear to me is was the app made worse recently, was it originally commissioned under trump?
Nothing about that changes that they should not be working with ICE and they deserve any pressure they get to cut ties. But there is some history here I am very curious about.
All of that being said, I am concerned about how this will be turned around and used in more than just ICE and targeting everyone. Especially since we can be sure this will be used in largely blue big cities.
They've definitely using tools like this for a while. It's been true under all administrations, and it's always been a problem. Privacy advocates have been alerting on this for a while.
Physically attacking citizens takes it to another level.
It's one thing for tech companies to be complicit in eroding privacy, it's quite another to be complicit in overt fascism.
> is not really clear to me is was the app made worse recently, was it originally commissioned under trump?
I think it's pretty clear that we've slidden into this situation for years.
This is what privacy advocates have been shouting about a long time. When the systems are in place all you need is a trigger for everything to go to hell.
It was a boring database product in 2011. It expanded in scope over many years, and now has a much larger budget.
"That changed in the second Trump administration, with Palantir now working on ICE’s deportation efforts."
https://www.palantir.com/newsroom/press-releases/homeland-se...
"...Since 2011, Palantir has partnered with HSI"
ICE is already targeting everyone.
"I am all for criticizing and pointing fingers at trump and this entire administration"
I don't believe you or you wouldn't have bothered to muddy the water in the face of repeated violence and dehumanization.
We get absolutely nowhere if we just blindly blame trump for everything. All it does is give the other side ammunication to paint us as just “anti trump” when they can poke holes in our information. We have to be better than them.
We have to have all of the information and actually inform people instead of the half and twisted “truths” that is all that ever spew from this administration.
It doesn’t change or diminish what is going on right now, but it changes some of the conversation around this particular contract.
I guarantee you that if this contract started under the Obama or Biden administration and we just conveniently ignore that, it will come back and bite us in the ass. This app existing before this administration, what form did it exist, and how much use did it get is critical information.
Your reply brings to mind the phrase "useful idiot"
You are a fool if you can't see what's right in front of your nose. Every single person I've talked to outside of the US sees that Trump is working towards a genocide. I'm very concerned about my family and friends over in the US.
But I do agree that all the other administrations have paved the way
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