President Donald Trump has blacklisted Anthropic against using its technology for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth formally designated artificial intelligence firm Anthropic. “Supply Chain Risk to National Security” Following US President Donald Trump’s order to blacklist the company across the federal government.
Hegseth announced the decision on Friday, accusing the company of trying to impose ideological restrictions on US military operations after Anthropic refused to remove safeguards limiting the use of its artificial intelligence systems for mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
“Their real purpose is unclear: to seize veto power over operational decisions of the United States military” Hegseth issued a statement on social media. “This is unacceptable… The War Department should have full, unrestricted access to anthropogenic samples for every legitimate purpose in defense of the Republic.
“I am directing the Department of War to assign Anthropic a supply-chain risk to national security… This decision is final.” Hegsate said.
The designation bars any contractors, suppliers or partners working with the US military from engaging in commercial activity with Anthropic, significantly expanding its influence beyond the Pentagon. Defense officials said the company will be allowed to continue providing services for up to six months to transition military systems to alternative suppliers.
The move follows Trump’s sweeping directive to order federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology after the company resisted Pentagon demands to lift contract limits governing how the company can deploy its flagship AI model cloud.
Anthropic maintained two non-negotiable restrictions: bans on mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons that operate without meaningful human control. Pentagon officials argue that such safeguards could hamper operational flexibility during military crises.
The “Supply-Chain Risk” The designation — usually reserved for companies linked to foreign adversaries — marks an extraordinary step against a US-based technology firm deeply embedded in national security operations.
Anthropic is the first and only commercial AI developer to deploy advanced language models on classified Pentagon networks under a contract valued at $200 million. Its systems have supported intelligence analysis and military operations planning, including attacks targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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