White House Seeks Tighter Government AI Contract Rules, Irrevocable Licenses

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees centralized federal procurement, added Anthropic’s Claude to OneGov on Aug. 12, 2025, under an offer of $1 per agency for up to one year. The government is now seeking to enshrine AI usage rights in contracts, raising questions about whether providers can retain safety restrictions and where the boundaries of federal procurement and oversight should lie.

The GSA released a draft on March 6, 2026, requiring the government to receive an irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive license during the contract term to use AI for any lawful government purpose. Anthropic sued on March 9. A revised version issued June 17 retained the irrevocable license but limited it to the scope of contracted work, with public comments open through Aug. 3.