Anthropic seeks en banc rehearing on Defense Department supply chain risk determination

On October 13, Anthropic filed a petition with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting panel rehearing or en banc rehearing of the ruling that upheld its designation as a supply chain risk. The designation stems from Anthropic's refusal to allow Claude to be used for mass surveillance of Americans and lethal autonomous warfare; a divided panel upheld the Secretary of Defense's decision under Section 4713 of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act. Anthropic argues that the majority's interpretation of "otherwise manipulate" in the statute as not requiring hostile or malicious intent makes the provision cover nearly all government contractors; it also argues the majority conflicts with Supreme Court and circuit precedent on harmless error, due process, and First Amendment issues. Anthropic further notes that the Northern District of California, in a parallel Section 3252 determination, found direct evidence that its public statements contributed to the designation.