After the Pentagon said last week that it would designate the top AI firm as a threat to national security and prohibit the use of its products for defense, Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department and other government agencies. President Donald Trump declared in late February that Anthropic’s products will not be used by any other federal entities.
In its filing, Anthropic claimed that the federal government’s efforts to ban it went beyond a regular contract dispute and constitute a “unlawful campaign of retaliation.” The corporation stated that its “reputation and core First Amendment freedoms are under attack” as a result of the government’s activities, and it wanted to prevent the Trump administration from enacting the prohibitions.
Anthropic said that the White House’s supply chain-risk designation and messaging were already “jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars,” unlawfully disregarded necessary protocols, and exceeded presidential authority.
An Anthropic representative told that “seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, our customers, and our partners.” We will keep exploring every avenue for a settlement, including communication with the authorities.
The action follows months of increasingly contentious talks between the company and the Pentagon about how the military should be able to exploit Anthropic’s powerful AI technologies. Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei had requested tighter guarantees from the Pentagon that its systems would not be utilized for widespread domestic surveillance or direct usage in lethal autonomous weapons, whereas the Pentagon wanted to use the technology for “all lawful use.”
As part of its collaboration with data analytics startup Palantir, the Pentagon is said to have employed Anthropic’s main AI system, Claude, on classified networks for intelligence assessments, targeting recommendations, and battle simulations. Claude has also been utilized in federal agencies to help with data analysis and other administrative tasks, similar to consumer-facing chatbots.
According to CEO Dario Amodei, the term “supply-chain risk” has never before been openly applied to an American corporation. It has traditionally been reserved for foreign rivals and affiliated companies that cannot be trusted in crucial industries.
President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that all federal agencies must “IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology” after the two sides failed to reach a consensus by a deadline set by the Pentagon on February 27.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared on X shortly after that he would order the Pentagon to designate Anthropic as a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.” On Wednesday, Hegseth fulfilled the threat by formally notifying Anthropic that it was prohibited from conducting business with the Pentagon and its defense-related contractors.
