Artificial intelligence company Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, escalating its ongoing clash with the Trump administration.

The company has been under fire for its AI models being used by the Pentagon. Tensions stem from concerns about national security and from the Defense Department under Trump seeking unrestricted military use of AI.

The Pentagon formally notified Anthropic last week that its AI products pose a risk to the U.S. supply chain.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei clapped back on Feb. 27, claiming it would "challenge any supply chain risk designation in court."

Anthropic argues that Trump's directive is unconstitutional, and the company is now asking the court to block federal agencies from taking punitive action against it.

Anthropic noted that their usage policy states that Claude should not be used for "lethal autonomous warfare" or for the "surveillance of Americans en masse," as they do not believe Claude is capable of functioning reliably or safely if it were to be used for those purposes.

Despite this, the Defense Department under Secretary Pete Hegseth began "demanding" that Anthropic discard its usage restrictions altogether and replace them with a general policy, which would cover "all lawful use," the lawsuit states.

Anthropic noted that the most capable AI systems should also be the safest and most responsible. The company claims they are bringing this lawsuit because "the federal government has retaliated against it for expressing that principle."

"These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The 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's unlawful campaign of retaliation," the lawsuit states.

Anthropic Claims US Government Violated Its Rights

The lawsuit also outlined several distinct grounds on which Anthropic alleges that the U.S. government's actions unlawfully infringe upon the company's rights. According to the complaint:

  • The Administrative Procedure Act bars agencies from taking actions that are arbitrary or unreasonable and from exceeding the authority granted to them by law.
  • The Pentagon violated the Anthropic's First Amendment rights, as well as Article II of the Constitution and the Fifth Amendment.
  • The U.S. government denied Anthropic due process when it "imposed draconian punishments" and did not provide the company with "any factual findings" to support its actions.
  • 17 agencies and their leaders exceeded their legal authority by ordering contract terminations, suspending technology use, and prohibiting future bids-actions beyond their powers.
The U.S. Central Command has reportedly used Anthropic's Claude AI program during the Trump administration's air operations against Iran. The military also used Claude in the mission that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Anthropic's Claude Gov platform was the only AI system capable of running in the Pentagon's classified cloud. The platform has been gaining popularity in the defense department, given its user-friendly design.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives noted in a white paper entitled "Disruptive Technology" that this lawsuit will have "a ripple impact for technology partners and customers" depending on how this "soap opera" proceeds.

"In a nutshell, Claude is a major player in the AI Revolution and US Tech sector, and this 'supply chain designation risk' needs to be resolved quickly for the tech sector and ongoing enterprise deployments/ pilots," Ives wrote.

Ives cited technology disruption, economic weakness, and competition as risks to its price targets and ratings.