US government defends actions against AI firm Anthropic amid lawsuit

The U.S. government is pushing back against claims of unlawful retaliation made by artificial intelligence firm Anthropic. In a court filing on Monday, the Justice Department acknowledged that U.S. agencies had restricted access to Anthropic's chatbot, Claude. This action followed Anthropic's refusal to comply with the Defense Department's requests regarding the military application of its AI technology.

The government is urging a federal court in San Francisco to dismiss Anthropic's lawsuit on procedural grounds, arguing that the company's claims do not constitute a final agency action. Anthropic had filed its lawsuit in March against President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Pentagon classified the startup as a supply chain risk. The company had specifically objected to the removal of safeguards designed to prevent its AI from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.

A judge had temporarily suspended the ban on March 26. The ongoing legal battle is being closely watched as it could set precedents for government oversight of the technology sector and the regulation of artificial intelligence. Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, has previously called for a halt in AI development, adding another layer of complexity to the dispute.