AI startup Anthropic filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to blacklist the company's Claude AI models from government use. The dispute centers on Anthropic's refusal to allow its technology for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, which the company says led to retaliatory action by the Pentagon.

The lawsuit argues that the government's supply chain risk designation violates Anthropic's First Amendment rights and due process under the Fifth Amendment. Anthropic claims it engaged in months of negotiations with federal agencies but was ultimately blacklisted after refusing to compromise on ethical boundaries around AI deployment. The company says the designation is historically reserved for adversaries, not American firms.

In response, the White House labeled Anthropic a "radical left, woke company" and accused it of jeopardizing national security. The administration maintains that military access to AI models must be unrestricted for lawful defense purposes. Google and OpenAI employees, along with civil liberties groups, have filed briefs supporting Anthropic, warning that the government's actions could chill industry debate on AI safety and innovation.