DOJ appeals ruling that blocked the Trump administration’s ban on government use of Anthropic’s AI technology

The Justice Department filed an appeal Thursday against a March 26 ruling that paused the Defense Department's supply chain risk designation of Anthropic, which had effectively banned federal agencies from using the company's AI models. The dispute stems from Anthropic's refusal to agree that the military could use its Claude models for “all lawful use cases,” with the company seeking contract language prohibiting use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, after which the Pentagon designated it a security risk. Anthropic sued the Defense Department on March 9, arguing the designation violates its free speech and due process rights, and told a court that the government's actions had caused more than 100 customers to raise concerns about continuing to work with the company.