US appeals court upholds Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic
The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has declined to block the Pentagon's order blacklisting Anthropic as a national-security supply-chain risk.
A federal appeals court on Friday declined to block a Defense Department order blacklisting Anthropic from military contracts and deeming the AI startup a national-security supply-chain risk.
The ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in a lawsuit by Anthropic challenging the Pentagon’s designation, which the startup says has cost it billions of dollars in lost business and damaged its reputation ahead of a highly anticipated initial public offering.
The conflict began in February, when Anthropic refused the Pentagon’s demand to remove restrictions on the use of its Claude models for fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans. The resulting designation, made in March, cancelled Anthropic’s military contracts and barred other Defence Department contractors from using its technology. The company had signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July 2025.
The decision creates a potential legal conflict with a separate federal court decision in California last month, which found a broader administration ban against Anthropic unlawful, ruling the administration had unlawfully retaliated against the company for its views on AI safety.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision. Another federal court has already held the government’s parallel designation unlawful. We remain confident in our position and are considering all options, including further review,” an Anthropic spokesperson said.
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