Anthropic filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop the US Department of Defence from adding it to a national security blacklist, intensifying the artificial intelligence company’s dispute with the US military over restrictions on the use of its technology.
Last Thursday, the Pentagon imposed a formal “supply-chain risk” designation on Anthropic, restricting the use of its technology. A source said the technology had been used in military operations in Iran.
What did Anthropic say?
In the lawsuit, Anthropic argued that the designation was “unlawful” and violated its rights to free speech and due process. The case, filed in a federal court in California, asks a judge to revoke the designation and prevent federal agencies from enforcing it.
“These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech,” Anthropic said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk last week after the startup refused to remove guardrails against using its AI for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
The designation poses a big threat to Anthropic’s business with the government, and the outcome could shape how other AI companies negotiate restrictions on military use of their technology, though the company’s CEO Dario Amodei clarified on Thursday that the designation had “a narrow scope” and businesses could still use its tools in projects unrelated to the Pentagon.
Donald Trump has also instructed the US government to end its cooperation with Anthropic, whose major financial supporters include Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., and Amazon. Trump and Pete Hegseth said the process would involve a six-month phase-out.
Anthropic’s investors were racing to contain the damage caused by the fallout with the Pentagon, according to Reuters.
Their decision on 27 February followed months of discussions with Anthropic regarding whether the company’s policies could restrict military operations. It also came shortly after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met Hegseth in an attempt to reach an agreement.
The Pentagon said US law, not a private company, would determine how to defend the country and insisted on having full flexibility in using AI for “any lawful use,” asserting that Anthropic’s restrictions could endanger American lives.
Anthropic said even the best AI models were not reliable enough for fully autonomous weapons and that using them for that purpose would be dangerous. The company also drew a red line on domestic surveillance of Americans, calling that a violation of fundamental rights.
After Hegseth’s announcement, Anthropic said in a statement that the designation would be legally unsound and set a dangerous precedent for companies that negotiate with the government. The company said it would not be swayed by “intimidation or punishment,” and on Thursday, Amodei reiterated that Anthropic would challenge the designation in court.
He also apologised for an internal memo published by the tech news outlet The Information on Wednesday. In the memo, written last Friday, Dario Amodei said officials at the US Department of Defence were dissatisfied with the company partly because “we haven’t given dictator-style praise to Trump”.
Over the past year, the Defence Department has signed agreements worth up to $200 million each with leading AI companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.
Meanwhile, OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, announced a deal to deploy its technology within the Defence Department’s network shortly after Pete Hegseth moved to blacklist Anthropic. CEO Sam Altman mentioned the Pentagon shares OpenAI’s principles, including maintaining human oversight of weapon systems and rejecting mass surveillance of Americans.
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