Anthropic Sues U.S. Government Over Pentagon Blacklist

Mar 9, 2026
Anthropic has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Defense, challenging its designation as a national security supply-chain risk and alleging violations of constitutional and procedural law.
Anthropic Sues U.S. Government Over Pentagon Blacklist
Image: By TechCrunch

The AI firm Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Pentagon, according to Politico. The company is challenging its designation as a national security supply-chain risk, a label that prevents it from working with federal agencies and restricts its business with defense contractors.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the complaint alleges that the government violated Anthropic’s First Amendment rights, exceeded the statutory limits of the supply-chain risk authority, and bypassed proper contracting procedures. The lawsuit names several federal agencies and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among the defendants.

The action follows the Pentagon’s decision to blacklist Anthropic after the company refused to allow its AI model Claude to be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. President Donald Trump subsequently ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology.

Anthropic argues that the designation is unlawful and retaliatory, claiming it was imposed because of the company’s refusal to relax its ethical restrictions on AI use. The company says it will pursue additional legal action in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

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