The use of real personal data by Bavarian police to test a controversial AI-powered analytics system that enables police forces across different German jurisdictions to share and analyse data has been flagged as potentially illegal. 

A report (in German) by Bayerischer Rundfunk said that the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office has been quietly testing controversial analysis software developed by Palantir using the personal data of Bavarian citizens. 

Palantir's Gotham system, which runs in Bavaria under the name VeRa, helps bring together data from various databases and looks for cross-connections that investigators might otherwise not notice. 

Bavaria state commissioner for data protection Thomas Petri said he doubted there is a legal basis for the use of Palantor's software in Bavaria, and that he wants to examine the process.