Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

Perception of Spain’s Decision

• Many commenters applaud Spain’s move as “great news” and hope other European countries follow, seeing it as pushing back on US surveillance tech.
• Others call it short‑sighted, arguing Palantir is technically superior and that banning them may hurt capability.
• Some expect the order will be reversed by a future right‑wing government or undermined gradually.

Concerns About Palantir and US Tech

• Widespread view that Palantir is a serious security risk for non‑US states, given perceived alignment with US intelligence and the company’s surveillance focus.
• Several see Palantir as ideologically extreme and militaristic; some comments go as far as calling it fascist or “on par with Nazis,” while others push back that this trivializes historical atrocities.
• NATO leadership links to Palantir are seen by some as disturbing, suggesting deep political influence.

China, Huawei, and Alternative Risks

• Strong criticism that Spain simultaneously uses Chinese infrastructure (e.g., Huawei) for sensitive data; some see this as evidence the ban is political or corrupt rather than security‑driven.
• Clarification from others: Huawei’s role in one cited deal is supplying on‑prem storage hardware in Spain, managed by Spanish authorities, not full data hosting in China.
• Debate over whether the CCP or US/Israel is the “greater evil”; some prefer Chinese custody over US, others view China as a strategic adversary and espionage threat.

Data Sovereignty and Infrastructure

• Multiple commenters argue the real solution is to host data domestically (Spain or EU) rather than rely on US or Chinese vendors.
• Counter‑arguments stress the cost and complexity of building sovereign tech stacks and the political temptation to outsource.

Spanish Domestic Politics Context

• Discussion ties the move to Spain’s internal politics: recent US‑linked leaks about corruption involving former leaders, tensions with US policy on Iran, and fears of aiding a Spanish “MAGA‑style” opposition.
• Some see the Palantir blacklist as a defensive reaction by the current government; motives are viewed as partly opaque and “unclear.”

Broader Concerns About Blacklists

• A minority worries that once governments normalize company‑specific blacklists, the same mechanism could later be used against less obviously dangerous targets.