Alternatives
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Quantexa plans possible IPO in the USA in 2026.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is looking for alternatives to US analysis software. Meanwhile, the Chancellery is planning to expand the digital powers of intelligence services.
In the debate about analysis software for security authorities, the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Sinan Selen, is extremely cautious about the use of US software such as Palantir. Europe must also offer alternatives, said Selen on Monday at the start of the BfV's 21st symposium in Berlin.
Politicians must consider three factors when selecting software, said Selen: What a solution can contribute to security, how performant it is, but also whether it is "geostrategically correct". The German government has set European resilience as a clear goal. "Ultimately, we must be in a position to offer alternatives," said Selen. "We are well advised to sharpen our European focus."
European alternatives for data analysis
Several federal states recently opted for Palantir's system as analysis software for the police or created new legal bases for this or closely comparable software. After Hesse (Black-Red) and Bavaria (CSU/Free Voters), the green-black state of Baden-Württemberg recently decided to purchase the controversial Palantir software.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, which is governed by a black-green coalition, the state's police law was significantly revised at the end of November. Previously, only partial use of Palantir's software, which NRW had temporarily tested, was permitted there. With the new legal basis, North Rhine-Westphalian security authorities will be able to use most of the features in future - although the state has not yet acquired a new permanent license.
The Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf had at least started looking for alternatives: Cognyte, Datawalk, Innosystec, Linkurious, NuixChapsvision, Chapsvision, FSZ and Quantexa had been considered as possible alternatives, according to a parliamentary inquiry by SPD politician Christina Holtmann. In addition, there are several other providers of analysis software that could be considered for merging data sources and evaluating them.
"We are not that bad in Germany and Europe," emphasized Selen. However, this should not mean looking at individual countries. It's about developing and enhancing skills. "We have industries, we have companies that can do this," said the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "Perhaps we need to support them a little more and take them into account."
