Big Tech backs Anthropic in fight against Trump administration 3 days ago Share Save Kali Hays Technology reporter Share Save Reuters A slew of America's biggest tech companies have swung behind Anthropic in its lawsuit against leaders in the Trump Administration. Since Monday, Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have publicly supported Anthropic's legal action to overturn Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's unprecedented decision to label it a "supply chain risk". In legal filings, the tech giants expressed concerns about the government's retaliation against Anthropic after it refused to let its tools be used in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The government's behaviour could cause "broad negative ramifications for the entire technology sector", Microsoft warned. Microsoft, which works extensively with the US government and the Department of Defense (DoD), said it agrees with Anthropic that AI tools "should not be used to conduct domestic mass surveillance or put the country in a position where autonomous machines could independently start a war". A joint amicus filing, a filing by parties with a strong interest in a case, also came from several groups, including Chamber of Progress. The tech advocacy group, funded by and representing Google, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and many other tech companies, said they shared concerns over the government punishing Anthropic for public speech. Chamber of Progress stressed that it is "ideologically diverse" but concerned about the impact of the government's action on protections under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Facebook owner Meta is one holdout among major tech companies backing Anthropic's action. It left the Chamber of Progress in 2025 after years of membership. Chamber of Progress said it "opposes governmental attempts to force or restrict access to speech". Anthropic's lawsuit claims its free speech rights have been violated through government retaliation for its public statements, as Hegseth, President Donald Trump and others have accused the company of being "woke" or otherwise politically at odds with the administration. The joint amicus brief called the department labelling Anthropic a risk "a potentially ruinous sanction" for businesses and little more than a "temper tantrum". "If left in place, that sanction imposes a culture of coercion, complicity, and silence, in which the public understands that the government will use any means at its disposal to punish those who dare to disagree," the brief goes on. Another amicus brief was filed by almost 40 OpenAI and Google employees. And two dozen former high ranking US military officials filed their own brief, saying the government's actions "send the message that investing in national security carries the risk of capricious retaliation or disproportionate punishment for voicing disagreement". Big Tech companies throwing support behind Anthropic may seem out of step, given that executives
Originally reported by BBC Technology. Published on ABN12.