A US appeals court has upheld the Pentagon’s decision to blacklist Anthropic, keeping in place a ban on the artificial intelligence company’s technology across the Defence Department’s supply chain.
The ruling, issued on Friday, follows Anthropic’s refusal to remove restrictions on the use of its Claude model for fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans.
The dispute began in February after Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded that the safeguards be removed. The department designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk in March, cancelling its military contracts and preventing other Defence Department contractors from using its technology.
The decision is an unusual use of the authority against a US company. Anthropic has said the blacklisting has cost it billions of dollars in lost business and harmed its reputation ahead of a highly anticipated initial public offering.
The company remains a significant participant in the AI sector and is expected to pursue a major flotation in the coming weeks. But it has become increasingly isolated at the White House, where President Donald Trump has described warnings from Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei about the dangers of AI as a hoax.
Anthropic considers further legal action
The appeals court’s decision may create a legal conflict with a separate ruling by a federal court in California last month. That court found that a broader ban imposed on Anthropic by the Trump administration was unlawful.
Friday’s ruling concerned the Pentagon’s action under public procurement regulations, meaning the designation remains in force.
An Anthropic spokesperson said: “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.”
The military had reportedly been using Claude across a range of classified and sensitive systems, including during a January operation in which Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was captured and deposed.
