Anthropic has ended its partnership with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a powerful Washington lobbying group. This decision comes while the AI developer is engaged in a legal conflict with the Pentagon regarding the military application of its technology.
The dispute centers on Anthropic's restrictions on its Claude models, which prohibit their use in lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance systems. In February 2026, federal authorities began phasing out Claude from specific government deployments due to these restrictions.
Courts recently ruled that the government's actions against Anthropic were an unlawful retaliation, strengthening the company's legal position. Previously, ITI had supported Anthropic by filing amicus briefs in April 2026 alongside TechNet and other industry associations.
In March 2026, ITI wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, warning that supply-chain risk tools were being used as procurement weapons against inconvenient vendors. This tactic is viewed as a broader threat to the tech industry.
The situation contrasts with competitors like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, who have secured defense contracts without imposing similar use restrictions. Anthropic's case establishes a precedent for companies refusing certain military uses, despite the loss of government access.