US Government Slaps Anthropic with Supply-Chain Risk Label

The Defense Department has officially classified AI company Anthropic as a “supply-chain risk”, citing concerns over its acceptable use policies and potentially blocking defense contractors from working with the government if they utilize its Claude program in their products. The move marks a significant escalation in tensions between the US government and Anthropic, which had engaged in failed negotiations and public ultimatums over the company’s AI usage guidelines. The designation, typically reserved for foreign companies with ties to adversarial governments, represents a rare case of an American company being labeled as a supply-chain risk, raising questions about the implications for Anthropic’s future relationships with government agencies.