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Appeals court upholds Pentagon's national-security blacklist of Anthropic

D.C. Circuit rules 2-1 that the Pentagon can keep barring Anthropic from military contracts over its refusal to let Claude be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance.

newest coverage 1d agosummary written 1d ago174 pieces506 likes & upvotes876 comments NewswiresMastodonHacker NewsRedditBlueskyXYouTubeGoogle News

What to know

  • D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a national-security supply chain risk was reasonable and not retaliatory.
  • The designation followed Anthropic's refusal to let its AI be used for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, which the Pentagon says risks unreliable models shutting down mid-operation.
  • Anthropic says the ban has cost it billions and damaged its reputation ahead of an anticipated IPO, and is weighing an en banc appeal.
  • A separate district court ruling from Judge Rita Lin blocking a related government-wide ban on Anthropic appears to remain in effect for now, leaving the practical scope of the blacklist unclear.

The dispute Whether the ruling reflects a legitimate national-security finding under a specific statutory definition, or a punitive, selectively applied measure against a company that imposed guardrails the Pentagon disliked. · positions read across 51 posts and comments

many voices

The designation is a straightforward, legally grounded application of the statutory 'supply chain risk' definition given Anthropic's refusal to let the military use its AI without restrictions.

  • “Anthropic wanted to have rules on how the military used AI, the military said no and therefore doesn't want anthropic used anywhere in their supply line... It seems like it would just add more complexity to operations.”

    ApolloFortyNine · Hacker News ↗
many voices

This is political punishment for Anthropic saying no to the military, not a genuine national-security determination.

  • “It's clearly a punitive measure and has nothing to do with national security... It was very clear that the administration was punishing the company for saying "no".”

    jzb · Hacker News ↗
some voices

The designation looks arbitrary or corrupt because other vendors like OpenAI reportedly have similar restrictions but were not blacklisted.

  • “This smells like corruption to me. OpenAI has hacked several prominent entities and is allowed to do business as usual but Anthropic putting guardrails on the military's usage of AI is the national security threat”

    prometheus1992 · Hacker News ↗

Anthropic AI company challenging the designationPete HegsethPete Hegseth US Defense SecretaryDonald TrumpDonald Trump US PresidentJudge Gregory Katsas D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judgeRita Lin US District Judge, San Francisco

Appeals court upholds Pentagon's national-security blacklist of Anthropic
x.com

How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideospostscomments

Peak 69 pieces in one hour at Sep 25, 11 AM; 174 pieces over 3 days (98 articles · 1 video · 35 posts · 40 comments) Sep 25, 11 AM — 69 pieces · 60 articles · 9 posts — Newswires 60, Mastodon 3, Bluesky 2, +3 moreSep 25, 12 PM — 29 pieces · 9 articles · 8 posts · 12 comments — Hacker News 12, Newswires 9, Mastodon 8Sep 25, 1 PM — 23 pieces · 12 articles · 2 posts · 9 comments — Google News 11, Hacker News 9, Mastodon 1, +2 moreSep 25, 2 PM — 11 pieces · 4 articles · 2 posts · 5 comments — Hacker News 5, Newswires 4, Mastodon 2Sep 25, 3 PM — 7 pieces · 5 articles · 1 post · 1 comment — Newswires 5, Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1Sep 25, 4 PM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Google News 5Sep 25, 5 PM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post · 1 comment — Google News 1, Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1, +1 moreSep 25, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 comments — Hacker News 2Sep 25, 7 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, X 1Sep 25, 8 PM — 3 pieces · 1 video · 1 post · 1 comment — Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1, YouTube 1Sep 25, 9 PM — quietSep 25, 10 PM — quietSep 25, 11 PM — quietSep 26, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Sep 26, 1 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Sep 26, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 26, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Sep 26, 4 AM — quietSep 26, 5 AM — quietSep 26, 6 AM — quietSep 26, 7 AM — quietSep 26, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 26, 9 AM — 3 pieces · 1 post · 2 comments — Hacker News 2, Mastodon 1Sep 26, 10 AM — quietSep 26, 11 AM — quietSep 26, 12 PM — quietSep 26, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 26, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Sep 26, 3 PM — quietSep 26, 4 PM — quietSep 26, 5 PM — quietSep 26, 6 PM — quietSep 26, 7 PM — quietSep 26, 8 PM — quietSep 26, 9 PM — quietSep 26, 10 PM — quietSep 26, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Yesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Yesterday, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Yesterday, 12 PM — 2 pieces · 1 post · 1 comment — Hacker News 2Yesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 1 PM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 3 PM — quietToday, 4 PM — quietToday, 5 PM — quietToday, 6 PM — quietToday, 7 PM — quietToday, 8 PM — quietToday, 9 PM — quiet 12–34
Sep 26yesterdaytodaynow · 10:13 PM ET
  1. 4

    Anthropic says it may seek further judicial review

    Anthropic issued a statement saying it respectfully disagrees with the decision, remains confident in its position, and is considering further options including review by the full appeals court.

    “respectfully disagrees with the decision but remains confident in its position and is considering its options, including further judicial review…”
    — Anthropic
    1. 1 outlet U.S. appeals court upholds Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic

      first by The Hindu, 2d ago

    • The court accepted the government's overbroad, inaccurate, and pretextual interpretation of supply chain risk (the relevant statute being at [1]). The court also accepted a national security exception to the First Amendment that is never hinted at in the Constitution's text, yet somehow carries water in courts like this one [2]:> For one, if the…

      hn_ackerHacker News1d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 12 posts in this stretch
    • SueInRockville@mstdn.social

      Even # GIJoke Hegseth knows about the dangers of AI even if his moronic boss does not Appeals court upholds Pentagon’s Anthropic designation as a “supply-chain risk” Judges ruled continued integration of Claude into its systems presented a national-security risk https://www. pressrundown.com/business/us-a…

      SueInRockville@mstdn.socialMastodon2d agoview on Mastodon ↗

    • 1790368354 | Anthropic's Claims over Its "Supply Chain Risk" Exclusion by Dow Rejected | https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/25/anthropics-first-amendm... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49849556 | 4 comments1790417228 | Court rules Trump can blacklist Anthropic for refusing to enable Claude features |…

      1vuio0pswjnm7Hacker News1d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    all of them →
  2. 3

    Analyst ties ruling to wider push for AI regulation

    In a CBS News segment following the ruling, Public Citizen's J.B. Branch discussed growing calls for government AI regulation, noting Trump's plans to appoint an AI adviser and create an 'AI force.'

    • This debate seems to be missng the bigger picture regarding dual-use technology. If the precedent is set that any 'terms of use' which restrict military app can be deemed a 'supply chain risk,' does that effectively mean no commercial software vendor can ever legaly impose safety gurdrails on their products if, they wantto sell to government…

      mdaiWorksHacker News3d agoview on Hacker News ↗
  3. 2

    Commentary frames ruling as Pentagon keeping Claude 'off the base'

    Social accounts and outlets summarized the ruling as the Pentagon successfully excluding Anthropic's Claude from military use after the company refused to authorize it for killer drones or domestic surveillance.

    “The company would not sign off on using its model for killer drones or domestic surveillance. The Department of War called that a security risk and kicked it out of the military supply chain.”
    — @MarioNawfal

    • 🇺🇸 A U.S. appeals court told Anthropic the Pentagon can keep Claude off the base. The company would not sign off on using its model for killer drones or domestic surveillance. The Department of War called that a security risk and kicked it out of the military supply chain. The

      @MarioNawfalX3d ago12▲view on X ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 5 posts in this stretch

    • I am baffled the DoD/W needs to rely on a third (commercial party) for something strategic as this if they deem SI strategic. Pistols and rifles aren't the same thing.Hire people and pay them well and develop whatever yourself without this charade, they have unlimited budgets.I am not taking a moral ground, but I can't see how "an Anthropic" fits…

      stasomaticHacker News3d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    • CNN@c.im

      # CNN # News Federal appeals court rules Pentagon’s blacklist of Anthropic was legal

      CNN@c.imMastodon3d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  4. 1

    D.C. Circuit upholds the Pentagon blacklisting 2-1

    The appeals court rejected Anthropic's claim that the designation was retaliation for its AI-safety stance, finding the Pentagon had "ample support" for treating unrestricted Claude integration as a statutorily covered national-security risk.

    “The Secretary raises the deeply sobering prospect of overly constrained AI models shutting down unexpectedly and thus causing important military operations to fail…”
    — Judge Gregory Katsas
    1. 31 outlets U.S. appeals court upholds designation of Anthropic as supply chain risk

      first by HN Best, 3d ago · also RuntimeWire, Seoul Economic Daily, Business Today, Yahoo Finance, International Business Times, Gizmodo +24

      29 more headlines
    2. 10 outlets U.S. federal court says Pentagon can label Anthropic a supply chain risk

      first by CP24, 3d ago · also Politico, Business Insider, CNN, KEYT-TV, Globe and Mail, Mercury News +3

      5 more headlines
    3 more claims →

    • I think both sides are wrong. In no particular order:US does not buy weapons that self-regulate generally. The US can and has purchased weapons with stipulations on how they should be used. For instance, and I'm making this up, they might purchase cluster munitions for smashing up an airfields, but with a stipulation they may not be used where…

      exabrialHacker News3d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 33 posts in this stretch
    • SuffolkLITLab@esq.social

      TL;DR: A Washington appeals court ruled that the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic was legal, affirming that there was sufficient justification regarding potential national security risks posed by the A.I. company's products. https://www. nytimes.com/2026/09/25/technol ogy/anthropic-trump-ruling.html # law # tech # legaltech ⚖️ 🤖 # autosum

      SuffolkLITLab@esq.socialMastodon3d agoview on Mastodon ↗

    • “The Trump administration can blacklist AI firm Anthropic from all Pentagon contracts, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, in a decision that expands the executive branch's authority to designate U.S. businesses as national security risks.”

      @justinhendrixBluesky3d agoview on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  5. background

    San Francisco judge strikes down a parallel Anthropic ban — US District Judge Rita Lin ruled the administration had unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic for its AI-safety views under a different law, and blocked a government-wide ban on Anthropic as well as Hegseth's order barring military contractors from doing business with the startup.

  6. background

    Pentagon designates Anthropic a supply chain risk — Hegseth designated Anthropic as a national-security supply chain risk under two laws after the company refused to remove guardrails preventing its AI from being used in autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, following months of failed negotiations and public recriminations.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 5 outlets Anthropic Faces Court Setback Over US Supply Chain Risk Label

    first by Bloomberg Politics, 3d ago · also Tech in Asia, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Associated Press

    3 more headlines
  2. 2 outlets Trump Administration's Blacklisting of Anthropic Was Legal, Judges Rule

    first by New York Times, 3d ago · also NYT Tech

    1 more headline
  3. 2 outlets Appeals Court Backs Department Of War's Anthropic Blacklisting In Blow To Dario

    first by ZeroHedge News, 3d ago · also ZeroHedge

and 1 smaller piece

What people are saying 15 voices from 4 sites · best of 51 · verbatim

Still unanswered
  • Why hasn't OpenAI, which commenters say has similar military-use restrictions, been designated a supply chain risk?
  • Does this precedent mean no commercial software vendor can legally impose safety guardrails if it wants to sell to government contractors?
  • How does the still-standing district court ruling blocking the government-wide ban interact practically with this appeals court decision?