Massive Attack Is Taking Aim at Palantir

Massive Attack Is Taking Aim at Palantir ‘I find their declarations, objectives and moral framing pretty terrifying.’ by Gary McQuiggin 1 June 2026 Trip-hop legends Massive Attack are using an artistic rendering of notorious spy-tech firm Palantir’s own product to take aim at the company in their new live show. Custom-made facial recognition software will scan a 75,000-person crowd at Primavera Sound in Barcelona on Thursday, before cameras lock on to individuals, pull their faces up on screen and label them with “11 weeks no time off, burnout”, “unfinished books” and other satirical descriptors. Founded 20 years ago by arch-libertarian billionaire Peter Thiel, with financial backing from the CIA, Palantir has become one of the world’s most infamous surveillance tech companies, counting the US and Israeli militaries, ICE, the FBI and the NHS among its clients. Speaking exclusively to Novara Media in Helsinki, where the new show premiered, Massive Attack frontman Rob Del Naja explained that he wanted to draw the public’s attention to Palantir’s expansion from “kill chain tech” used in Gaza to accessing Britons’ medical records. “We really need a much wider debate on the suitability of a company like this having such capture of our societal infrastructure,” he said. The Bristol band’s intervention couldn’t be more timely. Just last month, London mayor Sadiq Khan blocked Palantir from a lucrative contract with the Metropolitan police, citing concerns over the company’s ethics. Its UK boss, Louis Mosley – a descendant of Britain’s most famous fascist – responded by claiming that Khan’s decision had put Londoners more at risk of rape and theft. Meanwhile, a debate is raging within NHS England. In 2023, Palantir won a £330 million contract to provide technology for a new platform designed to improve data sharing across the service. But senior health workers have described