Palantir documents, State University of New York (State University of New York at Stony Brook)

Please see attached correspondence in regard to your request.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Douglas Panico <douglas.panico@stonybrook.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 3:49 PM
Subject: Fwd: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Palantir
documents, State University of New York (State University of New York at
Stony Brook)
To: Records Access Officer <recordsaccessofficer@stonybrook.edu>

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 3:43 PM
Subject: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Palantir documents,
State University of New York (State University of New York at Stony Brook)
To: <douglas.panico@stonybrook.edu>

State University of New York at Stony Brook
FOIL Office
100 Nicolls Road
Stony Brook, NY 11794-1308

March 15, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the
following records:

Media reports state that the police departments around the country have
made use of Palantir's software (
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-palantir-peter-thiel/). Therefore,
I am requesting the following records related to the above program:
* Any software and algorithms developed for the implementation of the
program. I'm particularly interested in any algorithms that have a public
policy outcome, such as providing guidance on a policy or an assessment of
an individual. More generally, I would like any software that was developed
by or with, given to, used by, purchased or licensed to this agency for
implementation of the above referenced program. This would include original
source code, any compiled binaries (also known as executables),
spreadsheets, program scripts, and other digital materials used to
calculate any data in the above program. It would also include the input
training data for machine learning algorithms. Collectively, these
responsive materials will be referred to as "the software" in the following
paragraphs.
* All instructional materials, presentations and presentation materials
(including recorded video and audio, PowerPoint files, prepared remarks,
and slides formats), and other guidance on the use of "the software." This
includes any notes taken during meetings that discussed the use of the
software, any explanations (whether internally or externally generated) of
how the software works, and any other document that has been used to help
explain the use of "the software" to any party, including internal
documentation, public relations materials, and executive summaries. This
also includes any description of input and output data fields that will aid
in understanding the type of information that is submitted to the software,
and that is produced by the software.
* A copy of any privacy impact assessments, use policies, standard
operating procedures, data retention policies, legal opinions, warranties,
non-disclosure agreements, contracts, liability waivers, insurance
agreements, Requests for Proposals, Responses to Requests for Proposal,
Memorandums of Understanding, Letters of Interest, usage policies, or
informal agreements that reference "the software" or otherwise guide it use
or the relationship between this agency and the provider or developer of
the software.
* A copy of any funding opportunity announcements, grant applications and
grantor status/progress reports, reports to legislative bodies, annual
reports that mention the use of the Software, as well as audit records,
including but not limited to security audits of the software, misuse
reports, and reports to oversight bodies.
* A copy of any validation studies conducted with respect to the program or
with respect to any software or algorithms used in connection with the
program, and a copy of any records pertaining to inquiries for the need of
validation studies, or discussion of potential or actual validation
studies. By “validation study,” I mean any study designed to assess how
accurate the program is in predicting what it is supposed to predict, or to
assess whether the program may err in the direction of either under- or
overestimating likelihoods or predicted outcomes, or may produce any
results that are biased or unexpected in any way.
* For the aspects of the software that require an input, for example, to
compute a value, we request a copy of the five most recent sets of data
that were used for input, as well as the five most recent outputs of the
software, in whatever their native format is. If these inputs or outputs
include exempt information, we ask that you exempt only that information
which is specifically exempted from law, and provide the other material.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes. It will be used in
the course of reporting for Motherboard, VICE’s science and technology
website (www.motherboard.vice.com).

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business
days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Caroline Haskins

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PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
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--
[image: main_logo]
*Douglas Panico, CPA*
*Assistant Vice President, Audit & Management Advisory Services*
*Records Access Officer*

Stony Brook University
291 Administration Building
1308 SUNY
Stony Brook, NY 11794-1308
TEL: (631) 632-1439 | FAX: (631) 632-2981
E-Mail: douglas.panico@stonybrook.edu

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