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Money & work· 2 min read

US appeals court keeps Pentagon ban on Anthropic AI models

The federal court ruled that the Department of Defense can continue blocking the use of Claude in its systems over national security concerns.

By CyberttakPublished · 17:39
A uniformed security officer stands with their back to the camera in front of a heavy metal door in a government hallway
A uniformed security officer stands with their back to the camera in front of a heavy metal door in a government hallwayCredit: AI-generated · GPT Image 2

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, sided with the US Department of Defense on Friday. The judges decided that the government can continue labeling Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. This ruling keeps the company’s Claude AI models away from military and federal networks.

The core of the dispute

The department had ample support for its conclusion that the continued integration of Claude into the department’s information systems presented a national-security risk.

The Pentagon previously designated Anthropic as a risk, effectively removing its software from government operations. Anthropic challenged this decision, hoping to overturn the classification. The appeals court disagreed with the company, backing the government's authority to manage its own security.

"The department had ample support for its conclusion that the continued integration of Claude into the department’s information systems, by the department or its contractors, presented a statutorily covered national-security risk."

Potential impact on Anthropic

Anthropic has struggled to gauge the full impact of these designations. Following the initial move by the Pentagon, the company reported lost revenue as potential customers grew wary of its status as a government pariah. Despite this, the firm claims its sales have grown recently as it prepares for a potential stock market debut.

  • The Pentagon has not detailed its plan to swap Claude for alternatives like Grok, Gemini, or GPT models.
  • Anthropic is currently considering further legal actions, which could involve an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Why this matters

This legal conflict shows the friction between private AI developers and government agencies regarding security standards. The court noted that the dispute centered on standard contract terms and technical risks rather than an attempt to stifle the company's influence on AI regulation. How much should government security needs dictate the reach of a private AI firm?

This ruling does not confirm that Claude itself is inherently dangerous, only that the government may exclude it from its infrastructure. The court also did not resolve all legal challenges against the Pentagon's labels, meaning the situation could face years of further litigation.

In this story

Source: WIRED: Artificial Intelligence