Re:We Will Not Be Divided
by timr on Friday February 27, 2026 @09:41PM
(#47189480)
The latter is how the former is accomplished. Government employees cannot simply choose not to work with an otherwise winning bidder, so the government has pre-defined rules that allow pre-exclusion from the bidding process. This is one.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:We Will Not Be Divided
by ted_dunning on Friday February 27, 2026 @10:18PM
(#47189802)
No. It is much more than this.
If I sell red widgets that I make by hand to the government, I won't be allowed to use Anthropic to help me write my web-site.
You’re just restating the implication of the rule, but the rule is as I stated. That’s the point of having such a rule.
As you said: focus on what it does.
What it does is prevent companies that Anthropic needs to do business with from doing business with Anthropic.
> What it does is prevent companies that Anthropic needs to do business with from doing business with Anthropic.
If Anthropic “needs” the government to not have this rule, then perhaps they had a losing hand, and they overplayed it.
I don’t agree with you and think you’re being melodramatic, but if you are right, that’s my response.
I don't think any business can survive being told that they can't buy from their major suppliers or sell to major customers for very long.
But Anthropic can't be a winning bidder, can they? They're specifically saying they won't offer certain services that the US Gov wants. Therefore they de facto fail any bid that requires them to offer those services. (And from Anthropic's side, it sounds like they're also refusing to bid for those contracts.)
Is that not sufficient here?