The US authorities has taken a large step by banning federal companies from utilizing Anthropic, a home AI firm identified for its mannequin, Claude.
For the primary time, a U.S. agency has been categorized as a provide chain threat to nationwide safety, a label often given to overseas corporations like Huawei.
President Donald Trump introduced the choice on Reality Social on February 28, 2026, ordering all federal companies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” utilizing Anthropic’s expertise.
Departments deeply counting on Claude, such because the Division of Warfare (DoW), have been given a six-month interval to part out the AI.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth shortly adopted up on X, declaring Anthropic a nationwide safety threat.
He said that no contractor or provider doing enterprise with the U.S. army is allowed to have interaction in business exercise with Anthropic.
The Battle Over AI Use
The ban stems from Anthropic’s refusal to grant the Pentagon unrestricted entry to Claude. Anthropic requested two exceptions to the federal government’s use of its AI: no mass surveillance of People and no totally autonomous weapons.
In keeping with Cybersecuritynews, the Pentagon demanded full entry for “all lawful functions,” however Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused.
Amodei argued that present AI fashions aren’t dependable sufficient for totally autonomous weapons, noting that safeguards defend each troops and civilians. He additionally said that mass surveillance violates People’ civil rights.
Anthropic beforehand deployed its AI on the U.S. authorities’s categorized networks below a $200 million DoW contract beginning in June 2024.
After personal negotiations failed, the Pentagon issued an ultimatum: comply or face a blacklist.
Anthropic claims the Pentagon’s remaining provide included authorized language that might ignore agreed-upon safeguards.
Anthropic plans to problem the availability chain threat designation in courtroom. The corporate argues the transfer is legally unsound as a result of the regulation used (10 USC 3252) solely applies to Division of Warfare contracts, not normal enterprise operations.
Because of this, particular person customers and non-DoW contractors can proceed utilizing Claude.
Nevertheless, the ban might nonetheless hurt the broader tech trade. Anthropic depends on cloud providers from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google all of which have army contracts.
If the ban forces these cloud suppliers to chop ties with Anthropic, the corporate’s operations could possibly be severely impacted.
Authorized consultants warn this choice units a harmful precedent by making use of a overseas safety instrument to a U.S. enterprise.
President Trump has warned Anthropic of civil and prison penalties if it doesn’t cooperate through the transition interval.
Regardless of the stress, Anthropic stays agency on its refusal to permit its AI for use for autonomous weapons or home surveillance.
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