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 “examine whether the use of these extraordinary authorities against an American technology company is appropriate.”
Open Letter and Signatories
The letter is backed by signatories from major technology and venture‑capital firms, including OpenAI, Slack, IBM, Cursor, Salesforce Ventures, and others. It states:
“When two parties cannot agree on terms, the normal course is to part ways and work with a competitor. 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.”
Dispute Between the DOD and Anthropic
The conflict 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.
Anthropic’s two red lines in negotiations with the Pentagon were:
- Its technology must not be used for mass surveillance of Americans.
- It must not power autonomous weapons that could target and fire 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 set such limits.
Government Designation as a Supply‑Chain Risk
After Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei declined to reach an agreement with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology after a six‑month transition period. Hegseth then moved to designate Anthropic a supply‑chain risk—a label normally reserved for foreign adversaries that would effectively blacklist the AI firm from any agency or contractor doing business with the Pentagon.
In a post on Friday, Hegseth wrote:
“Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.”
The designation is not automatic; the government must complete a risk assessment and notify Congress before military partners are required to cut ties. Anthropic responded in a blog post that the label is “legally unsound” and that 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. OpenAI announced it had reached a deal for its models to be deployed in the DOD’s classified environments, with CEO Sam Altman stating that OpenAI shares Anthropic’s red lines.
Boaz Barak, an OpenAI researcher, wrote in a social‑media post that blocking governments from using AI for mass domestic surveillance is his “personal red line” and should be a collective one:
“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. We have done a good job of evaluations, mitigations, and processes for risks such as bioweapons and cyber security. Let’s use similar processes here.”
Barak’s post can be seen here.