Pentagon follows through with its threat, labels Anthropic a supply chain risk 'effective immediately'

"The Pentagon said in a statement Thursday that it has 'officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply chain risk, effective immediately.' The decision appeared to shut down the opportunity for further negotiation with Anthropic, nearly a week after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the company of endangering national security."

"The Pentagon statement said, 'this has been about one fundamental principle: the military being able to use technology for all lawful purposes. The military will not allow a vendor to insert itself into the chain of command by restricting the lawful use of a critical capability and put our warfighters at risk.'"

"Amodei said in a statement Thursday that 'we do not believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.' He countered that the narrow exceptions Anthropic sought to limit surveillance and autonomous weapons 'relate to high-level usage areas, and not operational decision-making.'"

The Pentagon officially designated Anthropic and its Claude AI product as a supply chain risk, effective immediately, following President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth's accusations that the company endangers national security. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to remove restrictions on Claude's use for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, prompting the administration's action. Amodei stated the company would challenge the decision in court, arguing the restrictions apply only to high-level usage areas, not operational decision-making. The Pentagon maintains the military must use technology for all lawful purposes without vendor restrictions. The military has six months to phase out Claude from existing military and national security platforms.

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