"Microsoft backs Anthropic in Pentagon blacklist battle, urges temporary restraining order" 10 March 2026

Microsoft threw its support behind Anthropic on Tuesday, saying a judge should issue a restraining order that would block the Pentagon’s designation of the artificial intelligence giant as a supply chain risk “for all existing contracts.”..

...Last week, the DOD officially banned Anthropic’s technology and deemed the company a supply chain risk, a label that’s historically been reserved for foreign adversaries. The designation, which was effective immediately, will require defense vendors and contractors to certify that they don’t use Anthropic’s models in their work with the Pentagon.

Anthropic sued the Trump administration on Monday, calling the government’s actions “unprecedented and unlawful,” and claiming that they are “harming Anthropic irreparably,” putting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts in jeopardy in the near term...

...Anthropic had been renegotiating its contract with the DOD in recent weeks, but talks between the two organizations collapsed after they failed to agree on how its models, known as Claude, could be used. Anthropic sought assurance that its models would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, while the DOD wanted the company to give the military unfettered access for all lawful purposes. Neither party budged...