WSJ Tech News Briefing · Friday, September 25, 2026
A federal appeals court has upheld the Defense Department's decision to designate AI company Anthropic as a security risk. The court found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had the authority to take this action, citing Anthropic's refusal to allow its AI tools for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance as a potential threat to military operations.
“A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the Defense Department's decision to designate Anthropic a security risk in a two-to-one decision.”
“The court found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had the latitude to take action against Anthropic under the law.”
“Anthropic had argued that the supply chain risk designation was a retaliation against the company for disagreeing with the Defense Department in contract talks.”