Is AI Becoming a Tool for Mass Surveillance? The US–Anthropic Clash Explained

Tensions have escalated between AI firm Anthropic and the US government after after the company refused to allow its technology to be used for mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons.

The confrontation intensified after US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that he was directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic as a national security "supply chain risk". The decision followed months of talks between the government and the company over the use of Anthropic’s AI model, Claude.

Anthropic, led by CEO Dario Amodei, reacted strongly, calling the move “legally unsound” and unprecedented. In a public statement, the company said negotiations had stalled because it refused to allow two specific uses of its AI technology: mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons.

The company maintained that it supports lawful national security uses of AI but drew a line at violations of fundamental rights. Anthropic argued that branding it a supply chain risk, an action typically reserved for foreign adversaries, would set a dangerous precedent for American companies working with the government.

“We have tried in good faith to reach an agreement with the Department of War, making clear that we support all lawful uses of AI for national security aside from the two narrow exceptions above. To the best of our knowledge, these exceptions have not affected a single government mission to date,” Amodei said.

“We believe that mass domestic surveillance of Americans constitutes a violation of fundamental rights. Designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk would be an unprecedented action, one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company,” he added.

A statement from Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, on our discussions with the Department of War.https://t.co/rM77LJejuk

— Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) February 26, 2026

Hegseth, however, accused Anthropic of “duplicity” and said the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to its AI models for lawful defense purposes. He also announced that federal agencies would cease using Anthropic’s technology following a directive from President Donald Trump.

“This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon,” Hegseth wrote. “Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every lawful purpose in defense of the Republic.”

He further said, “In conjunction with the President's directive for the Federal Government to cease all use of Anthropic's technology, I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.”

“Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic… America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final,” he added.

This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.

Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted…

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) February 27, 2026

Earlier, Amodei had publicly stated that the company would not compromise on safeguards related to democratic values and the safe deployment of advanced AI systems, despite pressure to permit “any lawful use” of its models.

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