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Palantir is suing a small Swiss magazine that detailed the country’s government repeatedly rejecting its services, as the data intelligence group grapples with European fears over US companies managing sensitive state systems.
Online magazine Republik published two articles in December revealing the Peter Thiel-chaired group’s unsuccessful efforts over several years to win Swiss federal government contracts. Authorities repeatedly raised concerns about data sovereignty legal compliance, it reported, citing documents obtained under freedom of information requests.
Some European leaders are pushing to reduce their reliance on US technology due to the Trump administration’s often antagonistic rhetoric towards the continent. This month, Palantir chief executive Alex Karp himself told investors there was “real hesitance” in parts of Europe towards adopting its tools.
The files unearthed by Republik include an internal Swiss Armed Forces review from December 2024. The report, reviewed by the FT, decided against using Palantir technology for Swiss military data because there was a risk that US authorities could gain access to the sensitive files.
Palantir’s lawsuit, filed in January, is not seeking damages or making libel claims against Republik, but instead alleges that the company was not given sufficient right to reply under Swiss media law. The company objects to Republik’s presentation of the public documents and believes its right to reply has been wrongfully denied.
“All we have asked Republik to do is to print our concise, fact-on-fact counter statement to their misleading reporting, that’s it. It’s our right under Swiss law,” Palantir said in a statement.
Alex Karp told investors there was ‘real hesitance’ in parts of Europe towards adopting its tools © Michael Reynolds/EPA
Republik’s managing director Katharina Hemmer said Palantir had wanted the magazine to publish a very lengthy counterstatement to each article. Republik believed the proposed statements did not fairly address or rebut the reporting, she said, adding that the magazine stands by its reporting.
While right of reply actions are a common tool in Switzerland, it is unusual for a large international company to file one against a local media organisation.
A judge will probably make a decision in March.
The report has drawn attention beyond Switzerland. Last week, a UK lawmaker cited it during a debate on defence contracts with Palantir. Backbench Labour MP Clive Lewis told parliament that “even the Swiss army has rejected Palantir as a platform on national security grounds”, demanding that Britain “pivot away” from the firm.
Palantir derives a significant share of its revenue from US government contracts, including work with defence and immigration authorities, which has at times drawn political controversy. But international customers accounted for a declining share of overall sales last year, and Karp noted this month that some non-US clients had favoured domestic providers.
The Republik articles framed the company’s actions as a multiyear, cross-ministry campaign to embed itself in core Swiss state infrastructure. But Swiss authorities repeatedly rebuffed Palantir’s proposals, the reports show.
The company engaged the Swiss Armed Forces and defence ministry, contacted the Federal Chancellery during the Covid crisis, approached the Federal Office of Public Health, held discussions with the money-laundering reporting office, and pitched the Federal Statistical Office.
In a blog post, Palantir said the article “paints a false and misleading picture”. It “hinders important discussions about the modernisation of European software and how technology should be procured”, Palantir said.
A Swiss government official said they understood that the armed forces review was a particularly “sensitive issue” for Palantir.
Switzerland’s Department of Defence did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Charles Clover in London