Anthropic Sues U.S. Defense Department Over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Designation and AI Use Limits

New updates have been reported about Anthropic.

Anthropic has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense after the Pentagon labeled the Claude developer a “supply chain risk,” a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries and hostile actors. The dispute stems from Anthropic’s refusal to allow its AI models to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons systems without humans in the loop for targeting and firing decisions.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the military should be able to use AI systems for “any lawful purpose,” but the new risk label effectively forces any defense contractor or agency working with the Pentagon to certify that it does not rely on Anthropic’s technology, potentially cutting Anthropic off from government-related business and partnerships. In its complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, Anthropic called the move “unprecedented and unlawful,” asserting that the government is using its power to punish the company for protected speech about responsible AI use, and the outcome of this case could shape how AI vendors negotiate use restrictions with major public-sector customers.