Microsoft shows support for Anthropic's legal case against the US Department of Defense

Microsoft shows support for Anthropic’s legal case against the US Department of Defense | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Gaming Industry US government reportedly debating whether to force Tencent to give up its US-based game holdings AI Meta’s latest legal wheeze is to insist that pirating books is fair use, actually AI Nvidia’s Jensen Huang: ‘I think the opportunity to invest $100 billion in OpenAI is probably not in the cards’ AI Microsoft CEO says ‘I look at all agents as users’, and that means AI ones too, as each agentic bot ‘will have its own identity’ AI Microsoft banned the word ‘Microslop’ in its Copilot Discord server, then began restricting access after users started posting ‘Microsl0p’ and other funnies AI OpenAI hardware leader resigns over concerns about ‘surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization’ AI Anthropic introduces Claude Code Review, so you don’t even need to check all of your own AI slop AI ‘We shouldn’t have rushed to get this out on Friday’: OpenAI hastily amends the terms of its controversial deal with the US Department of War as CEO Sam Altman claims it’s been a ‘good learning experience’ AI Big Tech makes White House pledge to stump up for the increased energy costs of AI and prevent household bills from escalating Hardware Cloudflare claims ‘today’s threat landscape is more varied and chilling than ever’ in latest report AI Amazon owns up to needing more human oversight over AI code—unfortunately, it wants to do that with fewer people Games Microsoft’s ties with ICE come under fire amidst allegations that the company’s cloud and AI technology are being used to support mass surveillance of US citizens AI Anthropic is suing the US government for blacklisting it and it’s calling in support from Google and OpenAI Platforms Open-source game engine Godot is drowning in ‘AI slop’ code contributions: ‘I don’t know how long we can keep it up’ Platforms US Department of Homeland Security has reportedly demanded personal information about ICE’s critics from Discord, Reddit, Google, and Meta—and at least 3 of those platforms have complied PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!MarathonArc RaidersBest PC gearQuizzes Software AI Microsoft shows support for Anthropic’s legal case against the US Department of Defense News By Jess Kinghorn published 11 March 2026 Friends in high places. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Microsoft/Getty Images) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Claude creator, Anthropic, has already had an eventful 2026—and now it’s challenging the recently renamed US Department ​of War. The Pentagon has threatened to designate the company as a “supply chain risk,” which Anthropic is currently fighting by suing the US government.Additionally on Monday, Anthropic requested a restraining order that would pause the Pentagon’s national security blacklisting of the company, arguing the court should hear the company’s suit first before carrying out the government’s order. The latest update today is that an amicus brief filing suggests Microsoft may back Anthropic’s cause (via Reuters).Microsoft argued it would be directly impacted by the DOD’s ‘supply chain risk’ designation of Anthropic. This is because Microsoft integrates a number of Anthropic’s AI products into tech it supplies to the US military. The company therefore made the case that the temporary restraining order is necessary in order to avoid massive disruption; if Anthropic was blacklisted, suppliers such as Microsoft would then have to make a costly pivot in order to quickly rebuild any of its offerings that were previously based on Anthropic’s AI tech.Article continues below You may like Anthropic is suing the US government for blacklisting it and it’s calling in support from Google and OpenAI Anthropic is standing up to the US Department of War and refusing to remove AI autonomous weapon and mass surveillance safeguards: ‘We cannot in good conscience accede to their request’ Not even Microsoft is confident that Copilot is right for coding, as it’s encouraging staff to try out Anthropic’s AI model, according to one report Microsoft requested to file its amicus brief in a federal court in San Francisco, but a judge still needs to approve i