Anthropic Sues US Government Over Supply Chain Risk Designation

Anthropic sued the Department of Defense Monday (March 9) to block it from placing a supply chain risk designation on the artificial intelligence (AI) company, Reuters reported Monday.

The company filed the lawsuit in federal court in California, arguing that the designation violates its rights to free speech and due process and asking the court to reverse the designation and block the federal government from enforcing it, according to the report.

“The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech,” Anthropic said in its lawsuit, per the report.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Anthropic’s lawsuit names the Department of War—the Trump administration’s preferred name for the department—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, several federal agencies and other administration officials as defendants.

An Anthropic spokeswoman told the WSJ: “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 continue to pursue every path toward resolution, including dialogue with the government.”

Reached by PYMNTS, the Department of Defense declined to comment on the report, saying its policy is to not comment on litigation.

The White House told federal agencies Feb. 27 to stop using Anthropic’s AI products after the company refused a Pentagon demand that Anthropic agree that the military can use its models in “all lawful use cases.”

Anthropic wanted contract language that would prohibit use of its models for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, while Pentagon officials took the position that the military should retain final authority on use cases, as long as they are lawful.

President Donald Trump said federal agencies using Anthropic’s models will get a six-month phaseout period.

Hegseth said of Anthropic in a Feb. 27 post on X: “Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable.”

Anthropic said Feb. 27 that it was planning legal action after the Pentagon designated the company a security risk.

“No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post. “We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.”