Sisters of St Joseph of Peace urge Palantir to conduct human rights impact assessment

Palantir has not agreed to implement a shareholder proposal filed by the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP), asking the Company to conduct and publish a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) - a report that describes actual and potential human rights impacts associated with the use of its products and services. The shareholder proposal, filed in December 2025, focuses on the use of Palantir software by governmental agencies to violate human rights, including the rights to security of person; privacy; freedom of movement; freedom of expression; non-discrimination; peaceful assembly; and due process.

"As people of faith, we echo the words of Pope Leo XIV urging us to ensure that technology is used in defense of human persons, not to harm them," said Sister Susan Francois, CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.

Some of the issues highlighted in the proposal are related to the use of Palantir technologies by:

- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track individuals for detention, deportation, and revoking immigration status;
- Police Departments for "predictive policing" that violates an individual's right to innocence until proven guilty;
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the CDC to use medical data to locate undocumented people; and
- Various departments of the US government to merge personal data into a centralised system that can be used for surveillance.

Palantir has not agreed to publish the report requested by the Congregation. This is deeply concerning, especially in light of the role the company plays in increasingly violent and systematic human rights abuses in the US and its applications abroad particularly in conflict-affected areas. Palantir is also used by international police departments to facilitate real-time data sharing that includes personal details of children, victims, and witnesses as well as race and sexual orientation.

Reporters have recently revealed that Palantir software is being used by ICE to track protestors asserting their first amendment rights and to identify which neighborhoods to raid and by HHS to weed out diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from grant applications for child welfare programs.

For a Company that expressly acknowledges its responsibilities under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in its Human Rights Policy, Palantir recognizes it and its customers must comply with its human rights obligations, including avoiding causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts. The UNGPs require companies to carry out ongoing human rights due diligence, including "assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed."

"The requested HRIA would help Palantir align with the commitments of its own human rights policy and identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for misuse of its products in the commission of human rights violations," said Aaron Acosta, Program Director at Investor Advocates for Social Justice. "To meet its international human rights obligations, Palantir must 'know and show' that it respects human rights." Given the Company's longstanding contentions that media reporting on its products and services is inaccurate, the requested HRIA could also help dispel any inaccurate reporting, thereby reducing reputational damage - unless, of course, allegations in the media are well founded.

"Our commitment to human rights is foundational. From that moral standpoint, we are requesting that Palantir conduct and publish a formal Human Rights Impact Assessment," said Sister Susan, adding "confidentiality clauses in corporate or government contracts do not excuse companies from complying with international human rights law."

Sister Susan Francois, Assistant Congregation Leader, Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP) said: "Our commitment to human rights is foundational. From that moral standpoint, we are requesting that Palantir conduct and publish a formal Human Rights Impact Assessment…confidentiality clauses in corporate or government contracts do not excuse companies from complying with international human rights law."

Aaron Acosta, Program Director, Investor Advocates for Social Justice (IASJ) commented: "The requested HRIA would help Palantir align with the commitments of its own human rights policy and identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for misuse of its products in the commission of human rights violations…To meet its international human rights obligations, Palantir must 'know and show' that it respects human rights."