Anthropic sues Trump administration seeking to undo supply chain risk' designation

"These actions are unprecedented and unlawful, Anthropic's lawsuit says. The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech. No federal statute authorizes the actions taken here. Anthropic turns to the judiciary as a last resort to vindicate its rights and halt the Executive's unlawful campaign of retaliation."

"Anthropic said it sought to restrict its technology from being used for two high-level usages: mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials publicly insisted the company must accept all lawful uses of Claude and threatened punishment if Anthropic did not comply."

"Designating the company a supply chain risk cuts off Anthropic's defense work using an authority that was designed to prevent foreign adversaries from harming national security systems. It was the first time the federal government is known to have used the designation against a U.S. company."

Anthropic filed two lawsuits challenging the Pentagon's designation of the company as a supply chain risk following a dispute over military applications of its Claude AI chatbot. The company sought to restrict its technology from mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons use. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials demanded Anthropic accept all lawful uses of Claude and threatened consequences for non-compliance. Anthropic argues the government's actions violate the Constitution and lack statutory authorization, constituting unlawful retaliation for protected speech. The supply chain risk designation, historically used against foreign adversaries, marks the first known application against a U.S. company. President Trump also ordered federal agencies to cease using Claude, allowing the Pentagon six months to phase out the product from classified military systems.

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