US tech employees write to DoW to withdraw Anthropic's supply chain risk designation: ‘situation sets a dangerous…’

Hundreds of members of the American Technology Community have written an open letter to the Department of War (DoW) and Congress against designating Anthropic as a “supply chain risk”, which states that “no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic."

The letter was signed by founders, engineers, investors, and executives of the tech community. They said that the situation was setting a dangerous precedent and sends a message to every technology company in the United States that “accept whatever terms the government demands, or face retaliation.”

“This situation sets a dangerous precedent. The United States is winning the AI competition because of its commitment to free enterprise and the rule of law; undermining that commitment to punish one company is short-sighted and antithetical to our national security interests,” it said.

Urging the DoW to withdraw the designation, the tech employees continued, “We urge the Department of War to withdraw its supply chain risk designation and resolve this dispute through normal commercial channels. Further, we urge Congress to examine whether the use of these extraordinary authorities against an American technology company is appropriate.”

Trump said on his Truth Social platform: “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the [Pentagon], and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution.”

Trump added there would be a six-month phase-out for the Defense Department and other agencies that use the company's products. If Anthropic does not help with the transition, Trump said, he would use "the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow."

Anthropic then vowed that no amount of intimation would make them change their position. Anthropic also said that it will challenge Pentagon in court over 'supply chain risk' label on its AI technology, news agency AP reported.

“No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court,” the company said in a statement.