- Pentagon defends blacklisting of Anthropic as legal national security measure
- Company’s lawsuit claims designation violates free speech and due process
- Court battle looms as experts say Anthropic may have strong case
The Trump administration said the Pentagon did not violate Anthropic’s speech protections under the First Amendment to the US Constitution when it blacklisted the AI company earlier this year.
In a court filing the administration filed with the court earlier this week, it essentially supported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s designation that Anthropic posed a national security supply chain risk, and considered the blacklist to be justified and legal. PK Press Club reported.
Over the past few months, Anthropic, the company behind the popular Claude artificial intelligence solution, has been in negotiations with the Pentagon over lucrative deals that would see Claude and other tools integrated into various U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) projects.
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Respond with a lawsuit
Negotiations reportedly broke down after Anthropic refused to remove safeguards put in place to prevent the technology from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Shortly after, the company was deemed a supply chain national security risk, to which Anthropic responded with legal action.
In the lawsuit filed March 9, the AI company said the “unprecedented and illegal” designation violated its free speech and due process rights. At the same time, he said the designation also violates federal law that requires agencies to follow certain procedures when making these types of decisions.
“It was only when Anthropic refused to lift restrictions on the use of its products – that refusal is conduct, not protected speech – that the President ordered all federal agencies to end their business relationships with Anthropic,” the filing said. “No one has claimed to restrict Anthropic’s expressive activity,” it was stated.
Anthropic asked the California federal court to block the Pentagon’s move until a ruling is made. PK Press Club says “some legal experts” believe the company has a “strong case.” The company responded to the filing saying that “seeking judicial review does not change our long-standing commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security, but it is a ‘necessary step to protect our business, our customers and our partners.’
Via PK Press Club
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