Anthropic PBC v. United States Department of War
Issue
Whether the Department of War's designation of Anthropic PBC as a supply-chain risk under 41 U.S.C. § 4713 (FASCSA), issued without the statute's required procedural safeguards and allegedly in retaliation for a contract dispute, violates both FASCSA's procedural mandates and Anthropic's First Amendment rights against compelled speech and viewpoint-based retaliation.
What Happened
Following a contract dispute over Anthropic's Terms of Service, President Trump issued a social-media directive ordering all federal agencies to cease use of Anthropic's technology, and Secretary of War Hegseth simultaneously announced via social media that Anthropic was designated a supply-chain risk; six days later, the Pentagon issued formal determinations invoking 41 U.S.C. § 4713 and 10 U.S.C. § 3252. Anthropic petitioned the D.C. Circuit for review and moved for an emergency stay. Industry trade associations TechNet, SIIA, CCIA, and ITI filed this amicus brief in support of the stay, arguing that DoW bypassed FASCSA's required procedural steps—including joint recommendations, notice, opportunity to respond, written findings, and congressional notification—and that the designation constitutes both compelled speech under *Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo* and viewpoint-based retaliation under *NRA v. Vullo*.
Why It Matters
This case presents a potentially novel question of whether FASCSA's national-security supply-chain designation authority—previously applied only to foreign entities—can be used against a domestic AI contractor, and whether such use triggers First Amendment scrutiny as government-compelled alteration of an expressive AI product or retaliation for a company's negotiating position, which could significantly constrain executive procurement power over AI developers.
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