Federal Appeals Court Affirms Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Firm Anthropic
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a national-security supply-chain risk, rejecting the company's claim of retaliation over its AI safety policies.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled 2-1 on Friday that the Pentagon was justified in labeling AI startup Anthropic a national-security supply-chain risk. The decision came after Anthropic sued over a March designation that barred the company from military contracts, a move the firm says has cost it billions in lost business and harmed its reputation ahead of a planned initial public offering.
The majority opinion held that the Pentagon’s action was reasonable because Anthropic refused to permit its technology to be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance. The court dismissed Anthropic’s allegation that the department retaliated against the company for its stance on AI safety and ethics.
"The Secretary raises the prospect of overly constrained AI models shutting down unexpectedly and thus causing important military operations to fail," wrote Judge Gregory Katsas, citing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s concerns.
Anthropic issued a statement saying it respectfully disagrees with the ruling and is evaluating its options, including a petition for review by the full appeals court. The White House and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A separate ruling last month by U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco had struck down a related designation under a different statute, finding the administration had unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic for its safety positions and blocking a broader government ban on the company.