Anthropic is asking a federal appeals court to rehear its Pentagon blacklist fight

Anthropic requested a US appeals court on Tuesday to reconsider a ruling that upheld a Pentagon decision to label the AI company a national security supply chain risk. The designation stems from a dispute regarding safety guardrails on the company's technology. In September, a federal appeals court upheld the decision in a 2-1 ruling, agreeing with the Pentagon that Anthropic's safety restrictions could compromise military operations.

The court's majority found that the Pentagon acted reasonably after Anthropic refused to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance or in autonomous weapons. According to MyJoyOnline Ghana, Joy Business, and Free Malaysia Today, the court rejected the company's claim that it faced retaliation from the Defense Department due to its views on AI safety. Anthropic has stated that the Pentagon's blacklisting has resulted in billions of dollars in lost business.

In its petition to the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, Anthropic argued that the panel majority misinterpreted a federal law intended for hostile foreign actors, transforming it into one that reaches every government contractor. Quartz reports that the company claims a divided panel ignored evidence that the Defense Department's supply chain risk designation was retaliation for its speech regarding AI safety.

Brief written by urgent.news from Quartz, Economic Times Tech, MyJoyOnline Ghana, Joy Business, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.