Anthropic files lawsuit against Pentagon, seeks to overturn its designation as ‘supply-chain risk’, calls it ‘unlawful’
Anthropic filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the U.S. Department of Defense from placing it on a national security blacklist, intensifying the artificial intelligence company’s dispute with the U.S. military over restrictions on the use of its technology.
Last Thursday, the Pentagon applied an official “supply chain risk” designation to Anthropic, restricting the use of its technology. A source said the technology was used in military operations in Iran.
What did Antropik say?
In the lawsuit, Anthropic argued that the appointment was “illegal” and violated its rights to free speech and due process. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, asks a judge to vacate the appointment and block federal agencies from enforcing it.
“These actions are unprecedented and illegal. The Constitution does not allow the government to use its immense power to punish a company for protected speech,” Anthropic said. he said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth identified Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk last week after the startup refused to raise guardrails against using its artificial intelligence for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
The designation poses a major 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, but the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, explained Thursday that the designation has a “narrow scope” and businesses can still use its tools on projects unrelated to the Pentagon.
Donald Trump also ordered the US government to end its collaboration with Anthropic, whose major financial backers include Alphabet Inc.-owned Google and Amazon. Trump and Pete Hegseth said the process would include a six-month phase-out.
Anthropic’s investors were racing to contain the damage caused by the conflict with the Pentagon. Reuters.
Their decision on Feb. 27 came after months of discussions with Anthropic over whether the company’s policies could restrict military operations. This also came shortly after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with Hegseth in an attempt to reach an agreement.
The Pentagon has said US law, not a private company, will determine how the country is defended, and has insisted on having full flexibility to use AI for “any lawful use”, arguing that Anthropic’s restrictions could endanger American lives.
Anthropic said that even the best AI models are not reliable enough for fully autonomous weapons, and using them for this purpose could be dangerous. The company also drew a red line on domestic surveillance of Americans, stating that it was a violation of fundamental rights.
Following Hegseth’s announcement, Anthropic said in a statement that the appointment would be legally invalid and would set a dangerous precedent for companies negotiating 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 appointment in court.
He also apologized for an internal memo published by the tech news outlet on Wednesday. Information. In the memo written last Friday, Dario Amodei said U.S. Department of Defense officials were unhappy with the company, in part because “we don’t give Trump dictator-style praise.”
Last year, the Department of Defense signed deals worth $200 million each with leading artificial intelligence companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.
Meanwhile, Microsoft-backed OpenAI announced a deal to distribute its technology to the Department of Defense network shortly after Pete Hegseth blacklisted Anthropic. CEO Sam Altman stated that the Pentagon shares OpenAI’s principles, including maintaining human oversight of weapons systems and rejecting mass surveillance of Americans.
