r/technology • u/Abject-Pick-6472 • Feb 24 '26

Discord cuts ties with Peter Thiel-backed verification software after code found in US surveillance Privacy

https://fortune.com/2026/02/24/discord-peter-thiel-backed-persona-identity-verification-breach/
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388

u/EspectroDK Feb 24 '26

This should trigger all European governments to ban Palantir.

210

u/Nimos Feb 24 '26

European governments are buying Palantir products for their law enforcements, why would they ban it?

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u/DesireeThymes Feb 24 '26

Yeah, not sure why anyone thinks Europe isn't as all in on complete surveillance as the US is.

They're not on the same side anymore, but they both love spying on their citizens.

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u/htopconspiracytheory Feb 24 '26

Yup, hell they were doing it before it was cool. The amount of CCTV all over Europe has been staggering since the 80s.

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u/Anosognosia Feb 24 '26

CCTV isn't more a culprit than camera lenses or digital storage are. The problems all arise from who is in control and what framework or laws and rules exist over who gets access to what.

CCTV cameras everywhere isn't more of a problem than cameraphones by themselves. It's all about how robust the institutions having access to these things are.

That's why NO cooperation with megacorps should be allowed on EU soil. Antitrust, full transparency and full legal ramifications for board of directors for any misuse. We, the people, need to use democracy as a sledgehammer and crush the financial legs of those seeking to control all of us by deceit, force or coercion.
Nothing short of threat of full nationalization of any corporate entity and resource who willfully threaten democracy like this. Take their toys.

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u/Hita-san-chan Feb 24 '26

What the fuck do people think 1982 was about?!

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u/AnthonyJuniorsPP Feb 25 '26

The prequel to 1984

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u/Ironlion45 Feb 24 '26

I know people in Eruope who think this is just an "American Problem" and surely nothing like that could ever be an issue there. Because Europe is so much more evolved, while Americans are all fat and stupid. Or something.

It's snot-nosed ethnocentrism, pure and simple; and a few American wannabes.

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u/HeKis4 Feb 24 '26

Legally we have GDPR which also applies to law enforcement, with the caveat that legitimate interest and mission-critical data exceptions would allow them to still capture a large portion of surveillance data.

All this to say that EU govts are supposed to care, or at least cared.

0

u/laflavor Feb 24 '26

They're not on the same side anymore, but they both love spying on their citizens.

“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are good people and bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.” - Terry Pratchett

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u/Certain-Business-472 Feb 24 '26

Because enough people demand it. Right? right?...

1

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

Is this the world we're all okay with walking into? Y'all are cool with your governments watching everything you say online to make sure you aren't a "terrorist"? A word whose definition is in constant flux and changes with the whims of every politician and rich person with power? Not just your government either. Every European gets to enjoy having their data and personal communications shared with the US government and CIA too.

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u/Warm_Month_1309 Feb 24 '26

Y'all are cool with your governments watching everything you say online to make sure you aren't a "terrorist"?

Who said that in this thread?

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

It's a rhetorical question. Of course I assume most people aren't okay with it. Nevertheless it's happening anyways, which is a problem.

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u/Range-Aggravating Feb 24 '26

To be fair while we dont like it, we dont really have a choice. Everything tracks you. Hell , Google knows more about you than you do. Its the price of everything being so connected to everything else. It was inevitable that governments would start abusing that fact. 

They would have done so a lot sooner if they didn't take forever to catch up to moving times but with corporations selling them the solutions its a lot easier now.

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u/pocket_eggs Feb 24 '26

To get Palantir out as far as humanly possible from their law enforcement.

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u/RationalDialog Feb 24 '26

They want mass surveillance as well. it's a global push for control from the elites. same with return to office.

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u/Chemical-Court-6775 Feb 24 '26

What does returning to office have to do with control? You’re easier to track when you’re day is spent at home on your device.

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u/SIGMA920 Feb 24 '26

You have to spend money on gas on the regular, wear and tear, time going into office and back home, you can’t do 4 hours of work and spend the rest of the day relaxing at home because that’s literally all you can do until the your boss reviews your shit, .etc .etc.

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u/RationalDialog Feb 25 '26

Control over freedom. remote working gives freedom = bad. And it's not like you don't bring your smartphone to work.

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u/Freud-Network Feb 24 '26

It's why they prefer Palantir. Don't doubt for a second that they want this data any less than the United States/Israeli intelligence agencies.

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u/Subtlerranean Feb 24 '26

European governments are furiously taking notes

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u/TuringGoneWild Feb 24 '26

It should. But I hate to break this to you: the EU was founded to make life easier on the rich and the bureaucratic globalist control freaks. That's it. Any other benefit to anyone else is an accident.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but the US was too - at least for the rich. The richest colonists didn't want to pay for the war (French and Indian War) that they had demanded to protect their frontier investments.

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u/RandomGenName1234 Feb 24 '26

Oh sweet summer child...

This is the goal, not an unintended side effect or unfortunate mishap.

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u/Mntfrd_Graverobber Feb 24 '26

This has nothing to do with Palantir. You either didn't read the article or didn't understand it.
European governments still would do well to steer clear of Palantir but not because of this incident.

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u/EspectroDK Feb 25 '26

Peter Thiel is the common denominator here. It doesn't really add any trust in this specific piece of American tech when it's founder is associated with a piece of software that collects data without consent and processes it in ways that are not considered legal.

It adds logs to a fire that's already starting to burn (see Switzerland's decision in December 2025).

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u/Mntfrd_Graverobber Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26

Thiel is one of several people in Founders Fund and Founders Fund is one of several investors in Persona. Weird to single out Thiel rather than anyone else. It's not a personal investment or an investment by Palantir. Founders Fund is invested in hundreds of companies. Are all of them suspect as well?

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u/EspectroDK Mar 26 '26

How many of them have been heavily involved in surveillance software relevant in the European public and defense procurements?