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Appeals Court Upholds Pentagon's Anthropic Supply-Chain Risk Designation
- •A federal appeals court upheld the Pentagon's decision to classify AI company Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, as reported by Bloomberg.
- •The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the government had sufficient grounds to exclude Anthropic's Claude AI from the Department of War's supply chain.
- •The case arose from Anthropic's attempts to retain restrictions on military use of its technology, including for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance.
- •The court's majority stated the Pentagon could consider how contractual restrictions in Claude might interfere with military operations, citing the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act.
- •This ruling contrasts with an earlier order from a federal judge in San Francisco, who blocked a parallel government designation against Anthropic under a different law.
Key Questions Answered
A federal appeals court in Washington ruled 2-1 to uphold the Pentagon's decision to classify Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk. The court concluded that the government had sufficient grounds under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act to exclude Anthropic's Claude AI from the military's supply chain.
Discussions broke down because Anthropic wanted assurances that its Claude AI technology would not be utilized for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. Meanwhile, the government insisted on using the system without the restrictions imposed by the company.
An earlier order issued in August by US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco, which blocked a parallel government designation and broader restrictions under a narrower law, remains in effect. The appeals court noted that the California ruling involved a different statutory definition requiring a distinct showing.
