Photo: Getty ImagesAfter a year of wrangling the New Zealand Defence Force has been forced to reveal how much it pays for software from Peter Thiel’s secretive firm Palantir. Billionaire Thiel founded the firm in 2004 and is its largest individual shareholder and chairman. “The Defence Force neither confirms nor denies the existence or non-existence of the information you have requested,” it wrote. The Herald referred the matter to the Ombudsman, citing public interest in knowing the extent of financial links between the armed forces and the controversial firm. “Therefore, the NZDF should not have relied on this provision to withhold the information at issue.”Boshier gave the NZDF until March 29 to advise on how it will release the requested information.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 18, 2018 19:52 UTC