Anthropic sues Pentagon, blasting its ‘unprecedented’ move as a violation of what it claims are fundamental protections

As reported by Al Jazeera, Anthropic has just dropped a lawsuit to block the Pentagon from slapping it onto a US national security blacklist, really cranking up the heat in its high-stakes fight with President Donald Trump’s administration over how its AI technology can be used. The artificial intelligence lab filed its lawsuit, arguing that this designation is completely unlawful and a clear violation of its free speech and due process rights.

Anthropic’s filing in federal court in California is asking a judge to undo the designation and stop federal agencies from enforcing it. The company isn’t holding back, stating that “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.”

So, what exactly sparked all this? Well, the Pentagon hit Anthropic with a formal supply-chain risk designation last Thursday. This limits the use of Anthropic’s technology, which, apparently, was even being used for military operations in Iran, according to an unnamed source. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made this designation after Anthropic basically said “no thanks” to removing guardrails that prevent its AI from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.

Pentagon and Anthropic have been locked in increasingly tense talks about these limitations for months now

President Trump and Hegseth announced there would be a six-month phase-out period. On top of that, Anthropic is also trying to reverse President Trump’s order telling federal employees to stop using its AI chatbot, Claude. It’s even pulled in Anthropic’s rivals, especially OpenAI, which conveniently made its own deal to work with the Pentagon just hours after the government penalized Anthropic for taking a stand.

Anthropic actually filed two separate lawsuits on Monday. One is in the California federal court, and the other is in the federal appeals court in Washington, DC, each challenging different parts of the government’s actions. Company officials have said that filing the lawsuit doesn’t mean they’re closing the door on negotiations with the US government or reaching a settlement. They’ve made it clear they don’t want to be fighting with the government, though the Pentagon hasn’t commented on the litigation.

This ‘supply-chain risk’ poses a serious threat to Anthropic’s business dealings with the government. The outcome here could absolutely shape how other AI companies approach negotiating restrictions on military use of their tech. However, CEO Dario Amodei did clarify last Thursday that the designation has “a narrow scope,” meaning businesses can still use Anthropic’s tools for projects unrelated to the Pentagon.

President Trump and Hegseth’s actions on February 27 came after months of discussions with Anthropic about whether the company’s policies might hinder military action. This all happened shortly after Amodei met with Hegseth, hoping to strike a deal. Anthropic has consistently sought to restrict its technology from two specific high-level uses: mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons.

Hegseth and other officials have publicly insisted that the company must accept “all lawful” uses of Claude, even threatening punishment if Anthropic didn’t comply.