FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
John Mcdonnell | Getty Images
Anthropic "made a mistake" in its dealings with the Department of Defense, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr told CNBC on Tuesday after the U.S. government blacklisted the AI firm.
Anthropic had been in tense negotiations over the terms of its contract with the Pentagon. The startup asked for assurance that its technology would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance of Americans. The DoD wanted Anthropic to agree to let the military use the models across all lawful use cases.
Talks stalled last week and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company "cannot in good conscience" allow the use of its models under these conditions.
"I think it [Anthropic] probably made a mistake," the FCC's Carr told CNBC. "There's obviously rules of the road that are in place that are going to apply to every technology that the Department of War contracts with."
President Donald Trump then ordered every U.S. government agency to "immediately cease" using Anthropic's technology. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth escalated the pressure on Anthropic by labeling it a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security." The designation means any contractor that works with the Pentagon may not do business with Anthropic.
When asked by CNBC if the door was still open for Anthropic to work with the U.S. government, the FCC's Carr said the company should "try to correct course as best they can."
"They were given lots of off ramps ... given lots of opportunities to find a great landing spot, and they chose not to do it and that's a mistake for them," Carr added.
Anthropic was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
On Friday, Anthropic said it was "saddened" by the move to blacklist it, saying it "would both be legally unsound and set a dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government."
"We have tried in good faith to reach an agreement with the Department of War, making clear that we support all lawful uses of AI for national security," aside from the mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons, Anthropic said.
Just hours after Anthropic's blacklisting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said his company had agreed to terms with the Department of Defense regarding the use of its artificial intelligence models. On Monday, Altman said OpenAI "shouldn't have rushed" its deal with the Department of Defense, adding that it "looked opportunistic and sloppy."
OpenAI outlined revised terms of the agreement, including wording to clarify that "the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals."
- CNBC's Ashley Capoot and Dylan Butts contributed to this report.
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