Washington, D.C. — TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of tech CEOs and senior executives, today released the following statement on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Anthropic PBC v. U.S. Department of War:
“The D.C. Court of Appeals’ ruling grants the federal government vast powers to blacklist private companies arbitrarily without due process. This would be a dangerous new precedent with far-reaching consequences for our national security — it threatens existing business contracts and downstream supply chains, and discourages U.S. companies from investing in products and services for the federal government. We will continue to support upholding the longstanding legal framework that enables the tech sector to provide innovative solutions to advance our national security and improve government services for the American people — as a separate federal court did just a month ago,” said Bryn McDonough, TechNet’s General Counsel and head of its Innovation Legal Center.
TechNet’s Innovation Legal Center (ILC) submitted an amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April, urging a ruling in Anthropic’s favor. In the brief, TechNet argued that the Department of War misused its national security authorities to punish a company over a contract dispute without due process, and stressed that allowing this precedent to stand would destabilize the legal framework that technology companies rely upon to sell their products and services to the U.S. government.