Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defended its decision to award a short-term artificial intelligence contract to Palantir Technologies on Tuesday, telling lawmakers the U.S. firm would not have access to regulatory intelligence as concerns mounted over sensitive data and the growing reach of major technology providers in government, Reuters reported. 

Palantir won a 12-week contract to analyze the FCA’s internal data to support efforts against financial crime. The award drew scrutiny from members of parliament’s Treasury committee, who questioned whether the company could gain access to sensitive regulatory data and whether its expanding footprint across British public institutions risked putting the government in a position of dependence on the American firm, according to the report. 

Conservative lawmaker John Glen raised the prospect of Palantir becoming “ubiquitous across government” and asked whether anything could be done to prevent the company from becoming a monopoly, according to Reuters. Palantir has also secured contracts with Britain’s Ministry of Defence and National Health Service. 

Jessica Rusu, the FCA’s chief data, information and intelligence officer, told lawmakers the procurement process had been conducted “blind,” meaning the regulator did not know the identity of the winning bidder until the process had concluded. 

Responding to lawmakers’ concerns, FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi acknowledged there was “a big strategic question” about the spread of technology into public functions, but noted “we also want to be the most effective enforcer ⁠against financial crime and money laundering, and that requires us to use data intelligence more effectively and use best‑in‑class tools.”

The contract award comes after the FCA itself warned the financial services sector that heavy reliance on a small number of large technology firms could create systemic risks, Reuters said. 

Read more at Reuters