The U.S. Department of Justice appeals to ban Claude, GSA announces a 40% discount on procurement

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an appeal, attempting to reinstate a nationwide ban against the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. The next day, the General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for government procurement, announced an expanded collaboration, allowing government agencies to use Claude at a 40% discount, paying based on actual usage without a commitment to a minimum expenditure. Anthropic disclosed that approximately 500 federal, state, and local government organizations in the U.S. are currently using Claude, with usage by federal civilian agencies increasing about 20 times over the past year.

The GSA publicly supported Trump's ban on Anthropic in February of this year and removed Claude from the government procurement list. In March, a California court halted the comprehensive ban, and the GSA restored procurement eligibility in April. In August, the court further ruled that the government's broad ban was illegal. Although the Department of Justice has appealed, the relevant ruling will not automatically become invalid as a result.