Anthropic sues Department of Defense over supply chain risk identification

Anthropic has made good on its promise to challenge the Department of Defense (DOD) in court after the agency described it as a supply chain risk late last week.

Claude’s maker filed two complaints against the Department of Defense on Monday in California and Washington, D.C., after a weeks-long tussle between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over whether the military should have unfettered access to Anthropic’s artificial intelligence systems. Anthropic had two strict red lines: It didn’t want its technology used for mass surveillance of Americans, and it didn’t think it was ready to operate fully autonomous weapons without humans making targeting and shooting decisions.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon should have access to AI systems “for any lawful purpose” and that it should not be limited to a private contractor.

The supply chain risk rating is typically reserved for foreign adversaries and requires any company or agency working with the Pentagon to certify that it does not use Anthropic models. While many private companies still work with Anthropic, the company is on the verge of losing much of its business within the government.

Anthropic called the Defense Department’s actions “unprecedented and unlawful” and accused the department of retaliation in a complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco. “The Constitution does not allow the government to exercise its overwhelming power to punish a company for its protected speech,” the lawsuit said.

The protected speech Anthropic is referring to is its belief about “the limitations of its AI services and the important issues related to the safety of the AI,” according to the lawsuit. The administration, including Defense Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, has criticized Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei as “woke” and “extremist” over the company’s calls for stronger safety and transparency measures in the field of artificial intelligence.

In the lawsuit, Anthropic argued that the government did not have to approve of its views or use of its products, but it could not use state power to punish or suppress Anthropic’s expression.

Anthropic also claimed that “there is no federal law authorizing the actions taken here,” alleging that the Department of Defense’s supply chain risk classification was issued “without consideration of actions required by Congress.” The law generally requires agencies to conduct a risk assessment, notify the target company and allow it to respond, make a written national security determination, and notify Congress before removing the vendor from federal supply chains.

The company also accuses the president of acting outside the bounds of authority granted by Congress when he directed every federal agency to immediately stop using Anthropic’s technology, after Amodei said he would not budge from his hard-line positions. As a result of statements made by both President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the General Services Administration – the federal agency that administers government contracts and procurement – has terminated Anthropic’s OneGov contract, ending the availability of Anthropic services to all three branches of the federal government.

“Defendants seek to destroy the economic value created by one of the world’s fastest-growing private companies,” the lawsuit states. “The challenged actions do immediate and irreparable harm to humanity; to others whose discourse will be silenced; to those who benefit from the economic value the company can continue to create; and to a global public that deserves robust dialogue and debate about what AI means for warfare and surveillance.”

As part of its complaint, Anthropic asked the court to immediately halt the Defense Department’s decision while the case proceeds and ultimately invalidate it and permanently bar the government from enforcing it.

An Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement: “The request for judicial review does not change our long-standing commitment to harnessing artificial intelligence to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, customers and partners.” We will continue to pursue all paths towards a solution, including dialogue with the government.”

Anthropic filed a separate complaint in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals because federal procurement law allows companies to appeal supply chain risk classifications. The petition asks the court to review and overturn the Department of Defense’s decision to designate the company as a national security supply chain risk. In the complaint, Anthropic alleged that the move was illegal, retaliatory and improperly carried out under federal procurement law.

This story has been updated with more details and news that Anthropic has filed a separate lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.