Technology

Appeals court permits Pentagon to classify Anthropic as a supply-chain risk

A federal court upheld the Defense Department's authority to exclude the artificial intelligence company over software safeguards.

Updated Sep 26, 2026 · 06:08 UTC5 reports

The short version

A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the Defense Department can designate Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk.[Business Insider]
The Pentagon sought the restriction after Anthropic barred deploying its Claude models for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.[Business Insider · Wired]
Anthropic stated that it disagrees with the ruling and is evaluating further legal options, including potential additional review.[The Washington Sun]

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in favor of the Defense Department, allowing it to designate Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk.[Business Insider · Wired · The Washington Sun]
The court found the Defense Department had adequate support to conclude that integrating Claude presented a statutory national-security risk.[Business Insider]
Anthropic has maintained that it will not permit its AI models to support autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.[Business Insider · Wired]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth viewed Anthropic's restrictions on military use as a significant national security risk.[Wired]
A federal judge in San Francisco previously rejected a separate supply-chain risk label applied to Anthropic.[Wired · The Washington Sun]

Whether Anthropic will pursue an en banc rehearing before the full appeals court or petition the U.S. Supreme Court remains unconfirmed.[Wired · The Washington Sun]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.