A US appeals court on Friday upheld the Pentagon’s supply-chain exclusion of Anthropic after Anthropic refused to remove Claude safeguards. The designation canceled military contracts and bars Pentagon contractors from using its technology.
February’s dispute began after Pete Hegseth demanded that Anthropic remove restrictions on Claude’s use for fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans. Anthropic says it cannot modify models after delivery; the appeals court said the company determines each new version’s behavior and the military must keep up with the latest. The opinion cited an Anthropic executive’s objection to Claude’s use by contractor Palantir during the January 3 operation capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Under Secretary of Defense Emil Michael said the objection raised doubts that Anthropic might stop its software or take another action endangering troops.
The ruling conflicts with a California federal court’s decision last month that found a broader Trump administration ban on Anthropic illegal. Friday’s Pentagon designation, based on public procurement rules, remains in effect. Anthropic said it disagreed, noted the California court had ruled the government’s parallel designation unlawful, said it remained confident in its position and was considering all options, including further review.
