Appeals Court Backs Pentagon's Anthropic Blacklisting

A federal appeals court in Washington DC rejected Anthropic's request for an emergency stay in its lawsuit against the Department of Defense, ruling the equitable balance favored the government. The panel acknowledged Anthropic would likely suffer some irreparable harm but characterized its interests as primarily financial. The dispute stems from failed negotiations over a $200 million contract, with Anthropic refusing to allow the DOD to use Claude for all lawful purposes, citing concerns over mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Anthropic remains temporarily barred from Pentagon contracts but not wider government work, and says it is confident courts will ultimately rule the designations unlawful.