The data analytics company Palantir has learned that in Switzerland, the right to reply does not mean the right to rewrite history. On Friday, Zurich's commercial court dismissed 22 out of 23 counts of the company's lawsuit against Republik, an independent Swiss magazine, ruling that only a single passage in a year-long investigation warranted a published response.
The investigation, published in December by Republik and the Swiss research collective WAV, told what the journalists called a "failure narrative" - a rare species in the Palantir ecosystem. Through dozens of freedom of information requests, they discovered that Palantir, despite operating in Switzerland for nearly four years, had not secured a single government contract. This was apparently so shocking that the company decided the best course of action was to sue the messengers.
The articles made waves across Europe, prompting British MPs and other officials to question whether Palantir's technology was necessary for them. Palantir, for its part, said the Swiss government was not a significant target for regional growth - which is one way to spin a 0% win rate.
Palantir demanded Republik publish a detailed rebuttal with points the journalists said went beyond the scope of their investigation. When the magazine refused, Palantir filed suit. Swiss media law does allow subjects to request a right of reply, but with caveats: it must be concise and stick to the facts. The court agreed with Palantir on exactly one point: a statement that Palantir's Foundry software had been originally developed for US counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. On that, the court ordered Republik to publish a short counterstatement.
As for the other 22 counts, Palantir must bear 95% of the 9,000 Swiss francs ($11,300; £8,400) court costs and pay Republik 9,900 francs in legal expenses. Neither Republik nor WAV is a large outlet; the case consumed a significant portion of their resources. Jennifer Steiner, co-founder of WAV, said: "It was a lot of work and time invested. After four months waiting for a verdict, it's good to have such a ruling now." Balz Oertli, a WAV journalist, added: "We invested a great deal of effort into this case, and we are very pleased with the outcome."
Palantir, in a statement reported by the Financial Times, struck a magnanimous tone: "We welcome that the Zurich commercial court confirmed our right to publish a counterstatement. It's a critical part of open debate in our society to hear both sides on important topics." Presumably, the side that lost 22 out of 23 counts gets fewer words.