US online program on free speech faces scrutiny over choice of partners

The US State Department has launched a new programme involving companies including Palantir Technologies and Anduril Industries, with private-sector employees set to work alongside government officials on issues ranging from digital freedom of expression and online surveillance to privacy and emerging technologies. Since the announcement of the initiative, questions on concerns and conflict of interests have been raised by experts and the public alike.

The initiative, known as the Freedom Tech Excellence Program (FTEP), was launched at the end of July.

According to the department's own information, it allows private-sector employees to take on fixed-term assignments at the State Department in areas including "protecting freedom of expression in the digital age", "countering illegal digital surveillance and online scams", "technologies for protecting privacy", the "responsible governance of emerging technologies" and "the protection of minors and other online users".

Palantir, founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel and Alex Karp, develops platforms for integrating and analysing large amounts of data, including through artificial intelligence. Anduril, founded by Oculus VR creator Palmer Luckey, develops autonomous defence and surveillance systems, including drones, missiles, submarines, surveillance towers and unmanned combat aircraft, as well as its AI-based Lattice software platform.

The programme is intended to give the government access to specialised expertise from the private sector.

"Participants from the private sector," the statement said, "gain first-hand knowledge about foreign policy and development, while contributing their specialized expertise in new and emerging areas where the Department may not have sufficient in-house expertise."

The department added that "participants remain employees of their organizations for the duration of their assignment – maintaining existing working relationships while working on high-stakes and concrete real-world diplomatic challenges alongside senior officials of the Department."

Questions raised over digital surveillance

In addition to Palantir and Anduril, participants in the programme include the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

The involvement of some of the private-sector participants has drawn criticism from civil liberties and technology experts, as highlighted in a Foreign Policy article, who have questioned whether companies known for surveillance and defence technologies are appropriate partners for a programme focused on digital freedom and privacy.

Palantir has faced particular scrutiny over its government contracts and data-analysis systems. Through its Gotham platform, the company has helped government agencies integrate and analyse fragmented datasets, prompting concerns among civil liberties advocates over the potential creation of large-scale surveillance systems.

Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Greenwald has described Palantir as a potential new "Deep State" actor under the Trump administration.

"Personally, I would prefer that, to the extent that the government collects data on American citizens, they remain fragmented and isolated, therefore weakened," Greenwald said.

Critics have also pointed to an executive order issued last year that they argue has reduced barriers to federal employees accessing government data, potentially increasing the significance of systems capable of integrating information across agencies.

Scrutiny over AI surveillance

Anduril has likewise faced criticism over its work developing AI-powered surveillance systems and autonomous weapons.

The company was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus Rift, alongside former Palantir executives Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm and Brian Schimpf, and Oculus engineer Joe Chen.

Its products include surveillance technologies and autonomous weapons systems designed to identify and track targets and, in some circumstances, engage them.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the UK's Migrants' Rights Network and other civil rights organisations have criticised Anduril's surveillance technology, arguing that it could expand government surveillance capabilities and pose risks to privacy and civil liberties.

The involvement of the companies has prompted questions from former government officials and foreign-policy experts about their suitability for a programme focused on freedom of expression.

"It's not clear why these initial private sector partners have any expertise in freedom of expression," Chris Painter, a former cybersecurity official at the FBI, the State Department and the White House, told Foreign Policy magazine.

"When you want to talk about issues related to freedom of expression, there are a myriad of civil society organizations that deal with them."

Steve Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also questioned the choice of companies.

"That the Trump administration recruits from the same companies that are under scrutiny for their surveillance practices — I find the whole thing totally puzzling," Feldstein told the outlet.

By Nazrin Sadigova