Big tech supports Anthropic against Trump administration

Many of America's leading tech firms have rallied around Anthropic in its case against key members of the Trump Administration.

This week, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft have come out in support of Anthropic's legal challenge against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's remarkable decision to identify it as a "supply chain risk".

In court documents, these tech titans voiced worries over the government’s response to Anthropic after the company declined the use of its tools for large-scale surveillance and autonomous weapons.

Microsoft cautioned that the government's actions could have "far-reaching adverse effects on the entire tech industry".

With strong cooperation with the US government and the Department of Defense (DoD), Microsoft aligned with Anthropic's belief that AI technologies "should not be employed for domestic mass surveillance or pose the risk of autonomous machines potentially triggering conflicts on their own".

A submission, known as an amicus brief, also came in from several organizations, including the Chamber of Progress. 

This tech advocacy collective, with backing from and representation of firms like Google, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and various other tech companies, expressed their apprehensions about the government penalising Anthropic for its public expressions.

The Chamber of Progress emphasised its "ideologically broad" viewpoint but highlighted concerns over how the government's stance could affect First Amendment protections under the US Constitution.

Among the major tech companies, Meta, Facebook's owner, stands apart by not backing Anthropic. Meta withdrew from the Chamber of Progress in 2025 following a long period of participation.

The Chamber of Progress noted that its current members uniformly "reject attempts by the government to control or limit speech access".

Anthropic's lawsuit argues that its rights to free speech have been encroached upon through governmental retribution over its public comments, as Hegseth, President Donald Trump, and others have accused the company of being "woke" or politically opposed to the administration.