The Financial Conduct Authority is giving Palantir access to all its internal data for investigating financial crime to trial anti-fraud technology.
The proof of concept trial that began on January 30 is for an enterprise search function that could put all the FCA’s structured or unstructured data to better use fighting financial crime.
Lawmakers quickly raised privacy concerns about exposing confidential data to the US firm.
The FCA’s director of data, technology and information Ian Phoenix said in a statement on Monday the proof of concept “is not the introduction of an operational AI system and it does not give Palantir unfettered access to FCA data (...) [Palantir] acts strictly as a data processor, not a data controller. The FCA retains full autonomy over encryption keys, and all data is hosted solely within the UK.”
FCA executives confirmed to UK MPs that Palantir would not have access to regulatory intelligence during a regular parliamentary hearing with the Treasury Committee held on Tuesday.
Palantir and privacy
The contract, worth £375,000, is to “enable true enterprise search across all FCA datasets - structured, semi-structured, and unstructured - via a federated data or virtualisation layer in line with the Enterprise Search Blueprint and Decision,” per the tender notice.
