Palantir Hits Roadblock In Germany After February Court Ruling, Expects Leeway - Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR)

German states Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia were reviewing the use of Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR software over privacy concerns, the Financial Times reports.
In February, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruled that laws allowing data mining by police forces infringed on individuals' privacy.
The court ordered Hesse and Hamburg to begin revamping their use of software made by Palantir.
The moves have dealt a blow to the $17 billion data analytics company, led by CEO Alex Karp and co-founded by Peter Thiel.
Palantir is the frontrunner for a forthcoming £400 million data contract with the U.K.'s NHS.
Palantir's other clients included the Danish police and the law enforcement agency Europol. German police forces have said they intend to continue using Palantir's software.
Karp, a German speaker, said in a February earnings call that Europeans are "a lot less friendly to new innovations."
"That felt to me like they're throwing in the towel on Europe," said Tyler Radke, a software equity analyst at Citi, about Karp's comments.
Since Germany first deployed Palantir's Gotham software in 2017, the HessenDATA system has helped foil a 2018 Islamist terrorist attack and uncover a pedophile ring in 2020.
But the constitutional court found that Gotham could subject innocent people with links to criminals to the police investigation.
Hesse's police cannot conduct automated data analysis until its government has rewritten its legislation. The ruling also threatens Palantir's expansion to other states.
Bavaria signed a €25 million framework agreement with Palantir in 2022. North Rhine-Westphalia signed a Palantir deal worth over €20 million in 2020.
Activists elsewhere in Europe do not anticipate immediate repercussions beyond Germany.
Palantir expects the ruling to reassure states that its tech can serve within the framework laid out by the constitutional court.
In February, Palantir reported its first profitable quarter, during which sales grew faster on government business rather than revenue from the private sector, partly due to economic uncertainty.
Price Action: PLTR shares traded lower by 0.39% at $7.66 in the premarket on the last check Friday.

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