Cybersecurity Policy Report, AI Developers Questioned by Sen. Wyden About Federal Contracts, Domestic Surveillance, (Mar 5, 2026)
The Trump administration’s decision to penalize Anthropic over the company’s aversion to having its artificial intelligence technology used for domestic surveillance raises questions about other AI developers’ approach to potentially illegal uses of their technology, according to Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.).
In a letter sent yesterday, Sen. Wyden asked other leading AI developers whether their federal contracts prohibited the use of their technologies for domestic surveillance.
Anthropic’s contract with the Department of Defense was canceled last week after the company reportedly insisted that DoD couldn’t use the company’s AI for domestic surveillance. “We support the use of AI for lawful foreign intelligence and counterintelligence missions. But using these systems for mass domestic surveillance is incompatible with democratic values,” Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei said in a statement.
Although the Trump administration threatened to designate Anthropic as a supply chain threat ineligible for any federal government work, the administration hasn’t taken the formal steps necessary for that to happen. Instead, the company was blasted by a social media broadside from President Trump.
“I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” the president declared in a Truth Social post.
“There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels. Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” he added.
After DoD gave Anthropic the boot, the department announced a deal with OpenAI, Sen. Wyden noted in his letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google LLC CEO Sundar Pichai, x.AI Corp. CEO Elon Musk, and Mr. Amodei.
OpenAI’s contract with DoD initially seemed to leave the door open for DoD to use OpenAI for domestic surveillance, Sen. Wyden said. “After public criticism, OpenAI announced on March 2 that it had amended its agreement with DOD to prohibit ‘domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals,’” he said.
“OpenAI further said that any use of the company’s products by DOD intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, would require a new agreement. It remains unclear how effective this language will be in practice, but there are several reasons to be concerned,” he said.
“DOD under this Administration has proven itself to be an unreliable counterparty. It’s unclear how much contractual language will stop DOD from misusing OpenAI software, especially language that legal experts have already argued is insufficient to turn legal violations into contractual breaches,” he added.
AI developers are challenged by what Sen. Wyden called the “data broker loophole,” which allows federal agencies to circumvent privacy and civil liberties protections by acquiring personal information from data brokers. Contractual provisions against the use of AI for domestic surveillance might not exempt AI developers from having to analyze data purchased from brokers, he said.
“Merely requiring your government customers to use your products in compliance with the law is not a meaningful protection against abuse,” he told the CEOs. “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.”
He asked the CEOs to respond to his letter by April 3 with information about whether their government contracts prohibited the use of AI technology to “analyze data acquired through mass or bulk domestic collection conducted by government agencies,” to identify “new targets for domestic surveillance or surveillance of U.S. persons,” and to conduct “domestic hacking operations,” among other things.
News: FederalLegislation DataPrivacy AINews