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U.S. President Donald Trump told the authorities Friday (February 27, 2026) to "immediately" halt utilizing Anthropic's exertion aft the AI startup rejected the Pentagon's request that it hold to unconditional subject usage of its Claude models.
Anthropic insists its exertion should not beryllium utilized for the wide surveillance of U.S. citizens oregon deployed successful afloat autonomous weapons systems, portion the Pentagon says it operates wrong the instrumentality and that contracted suppliers cannot acceptable presumption connected however their products are employed.
"I americium directing EVERY Federal Agency successful the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE each usage of Anthropic's technology. We don't request it, we don't privation it, and volition not bash concern with them again!" Mr. Trump said successful a station connected his Truth Social platform.
"There volition beryllium a Six Month signifier retired play for Agencies similar the Department of War who are utilizing Anthropic's products, astatine assorted levels," the U.S. President said, referring to the Department of Defense.
"Anthropic amended get their enactment together, and beryllium adjuvant during this signifier retired period, oregon I volition usage the Full Power of the Presidency to marque them comply, with large civilian and transgression consequences to follow," Mr. Trump added.
Anthropic did not instantly reply to a petition for comment.
The Pentagon had said Anthropic indispensable hold to comply with its request by 5:01 p.m. (22:01 GMT) Friday (February 27, 2026) oregon look compulsion nether the Defense Production Act.
The Cold War-era law, past invoked during the Covid pandemic, grants the national authorities sweeping powers to nonstop backstage manufacture toward nationalist information priorities.
The Pentagon besides threatened to designate Anthropic a proviso concatenation hazard — a statement typically reserved for companies from adversary nations.
'Dangerous precedent’
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said helium was directing the Pentagon to travel done connected the second threat, and that "effective immediately, nary contractor, supplier, oregon spouse that does concern with the United States subject whitethorn behaviour immoderate commercialized enactment with Anthropic."
"Anthropic delivered a maestro people successful arrogance and betrayal arsenic good arsenic a textbook lawsuit of however not to bash concern with the United States Government oregon the Pentagon," Mr. Hegseth wrote connected X.
This week, Anthropic delivered a maestro people successful arrogance and betrayal arsenic good arsenic a textbook lawsuit of however not to bash concern with the United States Government oregon the Pentagon.
Our presumption has ne'er wavered and volition ne'er waver: the Department of War indispensable person full, unrestricted…
The struggle had earlier drawn a amusement of solidarity from others successful the industry, with hundreds of employees from AI giants Google, DeepMind and OpenAI urging their companies to rally down Anthropic successful an unfastened missive titled "We Will Not Be Divided."
"We anticipation our leaders volition enactment speech their differences and basal unneurotic to proceed to garbage the Department of War's existent demands for support to usage our models for home wide surveillance and autonomously sidesplitting radical without quality oversight," the missive said.
"They're trying to disagreement each institution with fearfulness that the different volition springiness in. That strategy lone works if nary of america cognize wherever the others stand," it added.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees Thursday (February 26, 2026) that helium excessively was seeking an statement with the Pentagon that would see reddish lines akin to Anthropic's, and that helium hoped to assistance broker a resolution.
"We person agelong believed that AI should not beryllium utilized for wide surveillance oregon autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should stay successful the loop for high-stakes automated decisions," helium wrote successful a memo to employees, according to U.S. media.
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a Washington-based exertion argumentation NGO, sharply criticised Mr. Trump's determination against Anthropic.
The President is "wielding the afloat value of the national authorities to blacklist a institution for taking a narrowly-tailored, principled stance to restrict immoderate of the astir utmost uses of AI you could imagine," CDT main Alexandra Givens said successful a statement.
"This enactment sets a unsafe precedent. It chills backstage companies' quality to prosecute frankly with the authorities astir due uses of their technology," Ms. Givens added.
