Tech workers urge DOD, Congress to withdraw Anthropic label as a supply chain risk
Source: TechCrunch
Overview
Hundreds of tech workers have signed an open letter urging the Department of Defense to withdraw its designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” The letter also calls on Congress to step in and “examine whether the use of these extraordinary authorities against an American technology company is appropriate.”
The signatories include representatives from major technology and venture‑capital firms such as OpenAI, Slack, IBM, Cursor, Salesforce Ventures, and others. The move follows a dispute between the DOD and Anthropic after the AI lab last week refused to give the military unrestricted access to its AI systems.
Background
Anthropic set two red lines in its negotiations with the Pentagon:
- Its technology must not be used for mass surveillance on Americans.
- It must not power autonomous weapons that make targeting and firing decisions without a human in the loop.
The DOD said it had no plans to pursue either use case but argued that a vendor should not be able to impose such restrictions.
Government Response
In response to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s refusal to comply with the Pentagon’s demands, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies on Friday to stop using Anthropic’s technology after a six‑month transition period. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Hegseth then announced that Anthropic would be designated a “supply chain risk,” a label typically reserved for foreign adversaries that would effectively blacklist the company from any agency or contractor doing business with the Pentagon.
Hegseth posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday:
“Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.”
Link to post
However, a social‑media post does not automatically make Anthropic a supply‑chain risk. The government must complete a formal risk assessment and notify Congress before military partners are required to sever ties. Anthropic responded in a blog post, calling the designation “legally unsound” and stating it would “challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.”
Industry Reaction
Many in the tech community view the administration’s treatment of Anthropic as harsh retaliation.
“When two parties cannot agree on terms, the normal course is to part ways and work with a competitor,” the open letter reads. “This situation sets a dangerous precedent. Punishing an American company for declining to accept changes to a contract sends a clear message to every technology company in America: accept whatever terms the government demands, or face retaliation.”
Beyond concerns about Anthropic, industry leaders are worried about broader government overreach and the potential misuse of AI.
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Boaz Barak, an OpenAI researcher, wrote on X that blocking governments from using AI for mass surveillance is his “personal red line” and “it should be all of ours.”
Link to post -
Shortly after the Trump administration’s attack on Anthropic, OpenAI announced it had reached a deal to deploy its models in the DOD’s classified environments. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the firm shares Anthropic’s red lines.
“If anything good can come out of the events of the last week, it would be if we in the AI industry start treating the issue of using AI for government abuse and surveilling its own people as a catastrophic risk of its own right,” Barak wrote. “We have done a good job of evaluations, mitigations, and processes for risks such as bioweapons and cybersecurity. Let’s use similar processes here.”