Microsoft says court should temporarily block Pentagon’s blacklist of Anthropic

Microsoft threw its support behind Anthropic on Tuesday and advocated for a temporary restraining order that would block the Pentagon’s supply chain risk designation “for all existing contracts.”

Such a move would “enable a more orderly transition and avoid disrupting the American military’s ongoing use of advanced AI,” Microsoft said in a filing. “Otherwise, Microsoft and other technology companies must act immediately to alter existing product and contract configurations used by DoW. This could potentially hamper U.S. warfighters at a critical point in time.”

Last week, the Department of Defense officially banned Anthropic’s technology and labeled the company a supply chain risk, a label that’s historically been reserved for foreign adversaries. The designation would require defense vendors and contractors to certify that they…