Anthropic Reportedly Requested Protections Against Its AI being Used for Mass Surveillance of Americans
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden questioned four major American artificial intelligence companies about their government contracts, after the Defense Department banned government agencies from using Anthropic, reportedly over a disagreement about whether the company’s AI software could be used to conduct mass surveillance of Americans, in a letter released today.
Wyden requested information from Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and X.AI about how the companies’ government customers — in the U.S. and overseas — can use their AI products under the terms of their contracts. Press reports indicated the dispute was over whether the company’s product could be used to analyze and combine location and web browsing data obtained from commercial companies.
“Given this Administration’s disregard for the law and its weaponization of government resources against the President’s perceived enemies, every American should be deeply concerned by the prospect that the Trump Administration will abuse powerful AI technology to conduct domestic surveillance,” Wyden wrote.
Wyden has documented how federal agencies repeatedly have purchased data without warrants to conduct surveillance.
He asked the companies to specify whether their agreements with the U.S. and foreign governments prohibit the use of their products for the following purposes:
- To analyze commercial location data that was sold to the government or government contractors in violation of the FTC Act.
- To analyze commercial web browsing, real time bidding, or netflow data that was sold to the government or government contractors in violation of the FTC Act.
- To analyze data acquired through mass or bulk domestic collection conducted by government agencies or at the direction of government agencies.
- To analyze data acquired through mass or bulk foreign intelligence collection conducted by government agencies or at the direction of government agencies, to the extent such collection includes information of or about U.S. persons.
- To identify new targets for domestic surveillance or surveillance of U.S. persons.
- To conduct domestic hacking operations or hacking operations targeting U.S. persons.
- To facilitate the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
- To facilitate the collection, analysis, dissemination or use in criminal proceedings of information related to protests or the recording, documentation, and distribution of information related to the activities of law enforcement or immigration enforcement agencies.
- To facilitate the enforcement of U.S., state or foreign laws criminalizing abortion.
- To facilitate the enforcement of U.S., state or foreign laws criminalizing gender affirming care.
- To facilitate the enforcement of foreign countries’ laws criminalizing blasphemy, criticism of the government or head of state (including lèse-majesté laws), or homosexuality.
The text of the letter is here.
A web version of this release is here.