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Comment by Uhhrrr | Hacker News Reader

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gestures broadly

In fact, I would say the burden of proof is largely on those who would say that Palantir and Thiel can be trusted despite all of their actions and rhetoric.

It's very fair to say that basically no one should be trusted with the large piles of data accumulated by various governments. But I would like to know why GP calls out Thiel specifically. Would they be just as mad at GovCloud?

I think there is a minimum standard of being informed before you can start to question others. Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.

Yes, it is fair to say basically no one should be trusted with large piles of government data, but this holds more true for the the likes of Thiel who have indicated that they are willing to abuse such access.

> Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.

Thiel is on the record saying he would use the data to make health and security worse? On the record saying he would abuse access? AFAICT this is not true.

I'll just give you one, and you can google for others:

"I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible."

For a guy with his access to data, yes, that makes everybody's security worse.

This is an incomplete quote from a pro-freedom essay: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...

Edit: Also, that quote does not provide evidence that he is "on the record" saying he would abuse access or make health or security worse.

That "essay" is only 14 paragraphs. It is pro freedom on the surface, but that just adds weight to the overall message that he is anti democracy. That he believes we'll find more freedom by abondoning democracy and moving to some other system doesn't reassure me of his sanity.

You fail at reading comprehension. That's fine, but don't do it here. Thank you.

I'm trying to understand better. You said "Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement."

And your support for this "on the record in many ways" claim was a single quote, "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible."

Are you basing your claim about Thiel's trustworthiness on a belief that only people with faith in democracy can be trustworthy?

Edit: For example, Tocqueville wrote, "Some have not feared to assert that a people can never outstep the boundaries of justice and reason in those affairs which are peculiarly its own; and that consequently full power may be given to the majority by which it is represented. But this is the language of a slave." Do you find him untrustworthy now?

Because Thiel is plainly, and in his own words, a regressive threat to democracy.

Peter Thiel is at least cosplaying a super-villain.

Palantir is mass surveillance as a product, including "predictive policing". He's been grooming JD Vance as the next president. He has given lectures about the anti-Christ, and seems overly interested in armageddon. And life extension, like getting blood transfusions from the young and joking that he's a "vampire".

"I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible." So which one does he plan to deprive the western world of?

https://quasa.io/media/peter-thiel-and-the-project-of-a-new-...

Trust must be earned. Thiel has earned none of that.

- Palantir built ICE's surveillance infrastructure. The technology concentrates power, and with the current government have zero oversight means this is a dangerous game that is being played. [0]

- Thiel has literally said that freedom and democracy are not compatible. [1]

- He has suggested conservatives should stage a military coup. [1]

- Secretly funded Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media, thereby all but destroying it.

- He still believes and pushes the debunked race science.

There's probably many other things I'm missing, but overall he's seems like a not so nice person as far as people go. Overall there is zero reason to trust anything that he has his hands on. Especially not things that matter in a national security context. This applied to all countries, including America.

[0] https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrat...

[1] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/owne...

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/26/paypal-co-foun...

[3] https://bylinetimes.com/2025/09/18/peter-thiels-race-science...

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