According to Reuters, Microsoft filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic's lawsuit on Tuesday, asking the court to temporarily prevent the U.S. Department of Defense from classifying Anthropic as a supply chain risk. In an amicus brief filed in federal court in San Francisco, Microsoft supported Anthropic's request for a temporary restraining order against the Pentagon order, arguing that the finding should be suspended while the court hears the case.
Anthropic filed a lawsuit on Monday to prevent the Pentagon from placing it on a national security blacklist, escalating a high-stakes battle with the U.S. military over restrictions on the use of its technology.
Microsoft said the DOD designation had a direct impact on the company because it integrates Anthropic's products and services into technology it provides to the U.S. military. Microsoft said the temporary restraining order was necessary to prevent costly business interruptions for suppliers who would otherwise have to quickly rebuild their businesses that rely on Anthropic products.
Microsoft noted that while the Pentagon gave itself a six-month transition period to phase out its work with Anthropic, it did not provide the same transition period for contractors who use Anthropic products or services to perform contracts for the Department of Defense.
"If this action proceeds without a temporary restraining order, Microsoft and other government contractors with expertise in developing solutions that support U.S. government missions will be forced to consider this new risk in their business planning," Microsoft said.
Microsoft also added that the temporary restraining order will buy time for all parties to negotiate a solution, while protecting the military's access to advanced technology and ensuring that AI will not be used for domestic mass surveillance or to wage war without human control.
On Monday, 37 researchers and engineers from OpenAI and Google also filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic.