The next phase in employee surveillance is here

Palantir’s new USDA contract is alarming — less because of its size than because of what it makes normal.  

The Department of Agriculture has obligated $3.9 million for a Palantir return-to-office tracking tool, with a potential value of $13.3 million through September 2027. Although that may look small in federal procurement terms, it could still become a prototype for something much larger: a government market for software that turns office attendance into an enforcement system.

The release of a new, mandatory app from the White House sharpens that concern, because it includes more than operational notices. Government Executive reported that it features official statements, policy announcements, social media posts and a “text President Trump” option that pre-populates a message praising him, with potential tracking features as well. Even if the administration views the app as a communications tool, Congress should ask whether government-furnished devices should carry content that career employees may reasonably perceive as political branding and surveillance.

The Palantir USDA contract and the White House app may look like separate controversies, but they point to the same federal blind spot: Washington keeps adopting tools that can shape, track or influence the federal workforce before Congress sets clear rules for how those tools may be used.

The White House can defend both moves in practical terms. Trump’s return to office directive last year told executive-branch agency heads to terminate remote-work arrangements and require full-time in-person work, subject to exemptions. The Government Accountability Office has found serious federal office utilization problems, including many headquarters buildings using an estimated average of 25 percent or less of capacity during sampled weeks in early 2023. 

And the White House’s own webpage describes an official mobile app that offers real-time updates, live events, policy initiatives and direct access to administration content. Those........

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