- The Pentagon defends the blacklisting of Anthropic as a legitimate national security move
- The company’s lawsuit claims the designation violates free speech and due process
- Legal battle looms as experts say Anthropic may have a strong case
The Trump administration said the Pentagon did not violate Anthropic’s speech protections under the US Constitution’s First Amendment when it blacklisted the AI company earlier this year.
In a lawsuit the administration filed with the court earlier this week, it essentially supported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s designation that Anthropic was a national security supply chain risk and deemed the blacklisting justified and legal, Pakinomist reported.
For the past few months, Anthropic, the company behind the famous Claude Artificial Intelligence solution, was in talks with the Pentagon about lucrative deals that would see Claude and other tools integrated into various US Department of Defense (DOD) projects.
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Responds with a lawsuit
Negotiations reportedly broke down after Anthropic refused to remove the barriers set up to protect the technology from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Soon after, the company was deemed a national security supply chain risk, to which Anthropic responded with a lawsuit.
In the lawsuit filed on March 9, the AI company said the “unprecedented and illegal” designation violated its free speech and due process rights. At the same time, it said the designation also violated federal law that requires agencies to follow certain procedures when making these kinds of decisions.
“It was only when Anthropic refused to release the restrictions on the use of its products — which refusal is conduct, not protected speech — that the president directed all federal agencies to terminate their business relationships with Anthropic,” the filing said. “No one has purported to limit Anthropic’s expressive activity,” it read.
Anthropic asked the California federal court to block the Pentagon’s decision until a decision is made. Pakinomist says “some legal experts” believe the company has a “strong case”. The company responded to the filing, saying that “seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to leveraging AI to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, our customers and our partners.”
Via Pakinomist
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