In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked National Security Agency documents that proved America was collecting internet communications through programs like PRISM meant to “prevent terrorism” from people all across the world. Those people responded by encouraging digital literacy and protecting themselves with VPNs, Tor Project, Guy Fawkes masks, and practicing selective engagement on the internet, such as not replying to too many ISIS tweets. Now, with the rising awareness of child online safety, people in our government are taking the opportunity to try and get their hands on our information again.
Before I get back to fearmongering, who is Peter Thiel? Well, he’s the CEO of Palantir, a company that specializes in AI programs that collect massive amounts of data for corporations and governments. Governments like the Trump administration, just can’t stop themselves from signing million-dollar deals with Palantir, ranging from the military to domestic security to even health.
But corporations are a pretty big deal, too. Not only is Palantir providing data to megacorporations like Amazon, Google, Nvidia, and Shell, but Thiel himself is a major investor in Persona. Persona is a company associated with Palantir in the Founders Fund, of which Thiel is a member. It operates AI face-age verification on sites like Reddit, Discord, Roblox, and ChatGPT: sites that kids use. These guardrails were added in response to the growing demand for child safety measures, making Thiel responsible for holding and managing data from children across the U.S.
People are being asked to fork over their faces and IDs to software tied to an AI data-collecting company that has been proven to be helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement collect data on people, data that the DHS requested Discord and other online platforms share with them on users who criticize ICE. And that doesn’t begin to mention the issues with other things Palantir has ties to, like Jeffrey Epstein or the Israel Defense Forces. Companies like Palantir aren’t public institutions and can be hacked or give your info to officials who you never imagined would have it.
When Obama responded to controversy surrounding those NSA programs in 2014, he said it was a “tradeoff” for security. Now the opportunity has come up again, and Trump can’t make that excuse anymore when a third-party company is using AI-powered programs to collect information on people who criticize ICE. Palantir is threatening our privacy and our rights. It is shaping our future into one that we should be increasingly wary of.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on April 9, 2026
