A raging debate in Germany over the use of software from Palantir, a controversial American tech company, is shedding new light onto how deeply dependent European authorities are on the US.

German politicians have been using the summer break to tear into each other over whether police should be allowed to use a specific piece of software.

The software in question is a data analysis tool made by Palantir, a US company co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel – an outspoken supporter of US president Donald Trump.

The software, called “Gotham”, connects different data sources to make them more useful for customers. Palantir offers it for a wide variety of use cases: The company's website advertises videos of satellite constellations and soldiers monitoring drone feeds.

Some regional German p

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