D.C. CIR.Court order
D.C. Circuit upholds Pentagon designation of Anthropic as supply-chain risk over autonomous weapons limits
A divided D.C. Circuit panel denied Anthropic PBC's petitions challenging the Department of War's exclusion of Claude from the military supply chain under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act. Judge Katsas, joined by Judge Rao, held the Secretary reasonably found Anthropic's contractual limits on autonomous lethal warfare and domestic surveillance a supply-chain risk, and rejected Anthropic's notice, due process and First Amendment claims. Judge Henderson dissented on the statute's definition of supply chain risk.
Order (U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) → · Courthouse News Service, CNBC, WIRED +1
Key points
- Judge Katsas wrote that encoded model restrictions had previously stopped Claude from performing tasks requested by government users.U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Anthropic filed suit after refusing to relax contractual prohibitions barring Claude from autonomous lethal warfare and domestic surveillance.U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitCourthouse News Service
- The court rejected First Amendment arguments, holding the exclusion turned on refusal of essential contract terms rather than regulatory advocacy.U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitWIRED
- Judge Henderson dissented, reading the statute's supply chain risk definition to reach only intentionally subversive or deceptive conduct, not open contract restrictions.U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitCourthouse News Service
- The panel delayed its ruling taking effect so Anthropic can seek panel or en banc rehearing, CNBC reported.CNBC
Sources5 articles across 5 outlets
ABC News
CNBC
Courthouse News Service
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
WIRED
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