The United Nations' World Food Programme is set to renew its contract with US data software firm Palantir, despite internal audits highlighting significant privacy concerns. A leaked 2025 internal audit, seen by PassBlue and FRANCE 24, reveals the UN's misgivings about allowing Palantir to process data for the world's largest humanitarian supply chain. The World Food Programme manages one of the biggest biometric databases in the world, containing information on millions of people, many of whom are beneficiaries of global humanitarian aid.
Palantir developed the Digital Operations and Transformation System (DOTS) to help the WFP track humanitarian aid and manage its supply-chain data. However, the company's involvement in the UN agency has been met with resistance from some personnel, who are concerned about the potential risks of partnering with a software company whose technologies have been used by US authorities in immigration enforcement and by military forces for lethal operations in the Middle East. The leaked audit states that "key privacy concerns" raised by internal and external stakeholders regarding the use of DOTS have not been adequately addressed.
A cyberattack on the Rome-based WFP in May exposed sensitive data on thousands of aid beneficiaries in Gaza, underscoring concerns about data protection. While the WFP said the attack was limited to its Self-Registration Application for Palestine, some personnel have expressed concern that data from the UN agency on beneficiaries could be used to train Palantir's data systems. The company's CEO, Alex Karp, has previously stated that Palantir's product is "used on occasion to kill people". Despite these concerns, a WFP spokesperson said the agency is set to renew its contract with Palantir, with the general scope and terms of the contract remaining the same as in the 2019 contract.
The leaked audit highlights "inadequate risk management" and a lack of "proper guidelines and policy" on data privacy in the WFP's relationship with Palantir. The problem is listed as "high priority", and the audit notes that the WFP "lacks a unified and trusted system" for managing its data. The agency's technology division has assessed opportunities to export and save data from DOTS in case of the partnership's termination, but such a plan has not been presented to key WFP or Palantir parties. An expert in humanitarian aid familiar with the contract noted that the original2019 contract contains a provision that could legally allow Palantir to "train its software" on UN data.
The renewal of the contract is set to be signed in August, according to WFP sources. The move has been criticized by some, who argue that it contravenes UN principles and raises significant ethical concerns. A report by independent researchers Tina Indrani Mason and Rose Worden for the "Tech for Bad" initiative warns of a "contravention of UN principles" and describes the UN's partnership with Palantir as "a clear conflict of interest and a grave abdication of ethical responsibility". As the WFP finalizes the renewal of its contract with Palantir, concerns about data privacy and the potential risks of partnering with the company are likely to continue.
