SIIA statement on DC Circuit Pentagon Anthropic Ruling

The following statement from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that administration can blacklist AI firm Anthropic from all Pentagon contracts can be attributed to Chris Mohr, President.

We are disappointed by today's decision. The government has broad authority to decide what technologies it buys and uses, particularly where national security is involved. But that authority should not become a mechanism for punishing companies because they place lawful limits on how their products may be used or because they disagree with the government about important questions of technology policy.

The court reached a different conclusion here, holding that the Department acted within the authority Congress provided under the Supply Chain Security Act. We believe that interpretation to be incorrect. And the broader issue remains important as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into government operations: companies should be able to develop products, establish safeguards, and participate in public policy debates without fearing that disagreement with the government will itself become grounds for exclusion from the federal marketplace. That principle matters not only to AI developers, but to the success of the entire procurement ecosystem.