Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting over AI use restrictions

NEW YORK, USA, March 14 ------ Anthropic filed a lawsuit to block the Pentagon from placing it on a national security blacklist, escalating the artificial intelligence lab’s high-stakes battle with the US military over usage restrictions on its technology.

Anthropic said in its lawsuit that the designation was unlawful and violated its free speech and due process rights. The filing in federal court in California asked a judge to undo the designation and block 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. “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.

The Pentagon on Thursday slapped a formal supply-chain risk designation on Anthropic, limiting use of a technology that two sources said was being used for military operations in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic after the startup refused to remove guardrails against using its AI for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. The two sides had been in increasingly contentious talks over those limitations for months, Reuters first reported. Trump in a social media post, ordered the entire government to quit using Claude.

Axios reported on Monday that the White House is preparing an executive order formally instructing the federal government to remove Anthropic’s AI from its operations. Anthropic and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the report. The fight is seen as a test of the administration’s power over business and whether the government or companies that make AI have the last word on its use.

AI and national security

The dispute is notable in part because Anthropic aggressively courted the US national security apparatus before most other AI companies. CEO Dario Amodei has said he isn’t opposed to AI-driven weapons, but believes the current generation of AI technology isn’t good enough to be accurate.

Anthropic officials said the lawsuit doesn’t preclude reopening negotiations with the US government and reaching a settlement. The company has said it does not want to be fighting with the US government. The Pentagon said it wouldn’t comment on litigation. Last week, a Pentagon official said the two sides were no longer in active talks.

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 Amodei clarified on Thursday that the designation had “a narrow scope” and businesses could still use its tools in projects unrelated to the Pentagon. “This could have a ripple impact for Anthropic and Claude potentially on the enterprise front over the coming months as some enterprises could go pencils down on Claude deployments while this all gets settled in the courts,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

Source: rappler.com