THE Spanish government has quietly decided to ditch controversial tech firm Palantir from involvement in sensitive public contracts amid growing concerns over national security.
According to El Confidencial, officials have begun telling state-backed firms to avoid signing new contracts with the US-based company, which specialises in providing artificial intelligence and data analysis services to governments and militaries.
While no formal ban has been issued or announced, board members of several publicly-listed companies told the newspaper they had been ordered to blacklist Palantir from future procurement – particularly when sensitive infrastructure or strategic data could be involved.
However, existing contracts are not being cancelled.
The guidance is reportedly focused on businesses controlled wholly or in part by SEPI, Spain’s sovereign wealth fund and state industrial holding company.
That includes major strategic firms such as Telefonica, Navantia, RTVE and Indra.
The rationale behind the de facto ban is understood to be a combination of strategic autonomy concerns, security risks and geopolitical considerations.
Spain does not want core state capabilities to depend on a US company that is deeply intertwined with The White House and US intelligence and defence agencies, viewing any over-reliance as a potential point of weakness.
The issue has become particularly pressing ever since relations between Spain and the US deteriorated following the war in Iran.
In May, US president Donald Trump doubled down on a threat to pull US troops out of Spain, linking the move to the Spanish government’s outspoken criticism of his military campaign in the Middle East.
Two months earlier, the US leader lashed out at Spain over NATO spending and threatened to impose a trade embargo over Madrid’s refusal to allow Washington to use two joint bases for operations in the Middle East.
Pedro Sanchez’s government decided to exercise a veto over the use of Rota and Moron air bases in Cadiz and Sevilla respectively amid fears that US-Israeli strikes on Iran constituted a breach of international law.
The move to ban Palantir from public contracts will also align Spain with a broader European-wide push for digital sovereignty, reducing dependence on US technology providers and instead encouraging the use of European alternatives, particularly for sensitive AI and data-analysis systems.
Palantir, co-founded by Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel in 2003, has become increasingly controversial in recent years for its involvement in expanding government surveillance through AI and facial recognition systems.
Its list of clients include US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Israeli Defence Forces.
