Appeals court rules Defense Department can blacklist AI company Anthropic

A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. Department of Defense in a dispute involving Anthropic, ruling that the Pentagon can blacklist the company’s AI products. The DC Circuit said Anthropic posed a supply chain risk, allowing the Defense Department to bar Anthropic products from its systems. The fight began in February after Anthropic objected to potential uses of its Claude AI for mass surveillance or autonomous attack drone missions. The court issued a 2-1 decision on Friday, noting that Claude includes restrictions that can prevent government-requested tasks and that the Pentagon had “ample support” to treat continued integration as a national security risk. The ruling left Anthropic products accessible across the broader federal government.