Artificial intelligence company Anthropic is suing to stop the Trump administration from enforcing what it calls an \u201cunlawful campaign of retaliation\u201d over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology. <\/p>\n
Anthropic asked federal courts on Monday to reverse the Pentagon\u2019s decision last week to designate the artificial intelligence company a \u201c supply chain risk<\/a>.\u201d The company also seeks to undo President Donald Trump\u2019s order directing federal employees to stop using its AI chatbot Claude.<\/p>\n The legal challenge intensifies an unusually public dispute over how AI can be used in warfare and mass surveillance \u2014 one that has also dragged in Anthropic\u2019s tech industry rivals, particularly ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which made its own deal to work with the Pentagon just hours after the government punished Anthropic for its stance. <\/p>\n Anthropic filed two separate lawsuits Monday, one in California federal court and another in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., each challenging different aspects of the government\u2019s actions against the San Francisco-based company.<\/p>\n \u201cThese actions are unprecedented and unlawful,\u201d Anthropic\u2019s lawsuit says. \u201cThe Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech. No federal statute authorizes the actions taken here. Anthropic turns to the judiciary as a last resort to vindicate its rights and halt the Executive\u2019s unlawful campaign of retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Defense Department declined to comment Monday, citing a policy of not commenting on matters in litigation.<\/p>\n Anthropic said it sought to restrict its technology from being used for two high-level usages: mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons<\/a>. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials publicly insisted the company must accept \u201call lawful\u201d uses of Claude and threatened punishment if Anthropic did not comply.<\/p>\n Designating the company a supply chain risk cuts off Anthropic\u2019s defense work using an authority that was designed to prevent foreign adversaries from harming national security systems. It was the first time the federal government is known to have used the designation against a U.S. company. Hegseth said in a March 4 letter to Anthropic that it was \u201cnecessary to protect national security,\u201d according to Anthropic\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n