--- title: "Claude | Ethical Stack" url: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/ catalog_version: f6baff2119d0e9158520da7fbe4232011dac79f25bd08757436d7a1dbd593db2 --- # Claude General-purpose assistant with web search and Research features that present source citations. Canonical profile: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/ Scope: Claude: cloud access. Free tier; Pro starts at $20/month billed monthly; other plans available. Ratings describe the stated product, company or configuration in each finding. Published overall: 3.3; 6/6 dimensions rated. Round the equal-weight mean of available numerical ratings to one decimal; require at least four of six for an overall score. BDS status stays outside the mean; for eligible profiles, a boycott target caps the final score at 2/10 and a pressure target subtracts one point (minimum 1). Not listed and not checked do not adjust the score. ## Energy practices Finding: 4/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#energy Anthropic discloses large compute partnerships, including AWS, Google, Microsoft/NVIDIA, Fluidstack and SpaceX. The Claude app offers model and extended-thinking choices and documents usage/caching behavior, but does not report a consumer-query energy or water footprint. Reason: 1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 2 controls = 4/10. This grade covers documented practices and transparency; it does not measure the energy or emissions of a request. Argument: Anthropic’s current compute announcements establish a changing multi-provider infrastructure boundary, not which partner serves a Claude app response. No route-specific energy, water, or electricity mix is disclosed. Model selection, optional extended thinking, and documented context/caching controls make this a C2 product, while the lack of measured savings keeps impact unscored. Type: conditional; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Claude consumer app; Anthropic’s compute partnerships are company-wide and span multiple operators, not a route-level Claude consumer allocation. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: 2026-10-24 Unknowns: Which compute host/region serves a Claude app response; model/request kWh and water; source mix and hourly matching; realized power effect of model/effort/caching controls; facility and supply-chain impact. ```json { "method": "practices-transparency-v1", "scope": "Claude consumer app; Anthropic’s compute partnerships are company-wide and span multiple operators, not a route-level Claude consumer allocation.", "components": { "disclosure": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic names multiple compute partners and large planned capacity, but no dated measured energy/carbon/water for Claude consumer responses.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8664678-how-can-i-change-the-model-version-that-i-m-chatting-with", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/10574485-using-extended-thinking", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/9797557-usage-limit-best-practices" ] }, "electricity": { "score": 0, "reason": "No electricity source mix or hourly matching is disclosed for the multi-provider Claude consumer route.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8664678-how-can-i-change-the-model-version-that-i-m-chatting-with", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/10574485-using-extended-thinking", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/9797557-usage-limit-best-practices" ] }, "demand": { "score": 2, "reason": "Users can select Claude models and enable/disable extended thinking; Anthropic also documents message, attachment, conversation-length, model, and caching effects on usage. These are documented workload controls, not measured energy reductions.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8664678-how-can-i-change-the-model-version-that-i-m-chatting-with", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/10574485-using-extended-thinking", "https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/9797557-usage-limit-best-practices" ] } }, "actualImpactMeasured": false, "meaning": "Documented environmental practices and transparency. Zero component points mean a reviewed evidence gap." } ``` - [Higher limits and a new compute partnership with SpaceX](https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [How can I change the model version that I’m chatting with?](https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8664678-how-can-i-change-the-model-version-that-i-m-chatting-with) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Using extended thinking](https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/10574485-using-extended-thinking) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Usage limit best practices](https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/9797557-usage-limit-best-practices) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Training data Finding: 3/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#training-rights Anthropic’s Claude disclosures describe public internet, public and private third-party, contractor and synthetic data but do not provide a named source inventory or document rights for most material sources. Anthropic documents a narrow crawler opt-out: blocking ClaudeBot signals future site materials should be excluded from model-training datasets. Reason: 1 + 1 source transparency + 0 permission + 1 creator controls = 3/10. This grades documented training-data safeguards, not a legal ruling. Argument: The identified Claude family receives one provenance point for broad data categories and no permission points because the reviewed disclosures provide no corpus-level affirmative rights basis. Anthropic’s current ClaudeBot instructions document a narrow prospective web-source exclusion, earning one creator-control point; this does not establish permission or provide a remedy for other sources. Type: argument; confidence: low Scope (dimension): Anthropic Claude model family for the consumer Claude app; versions and tiers vary. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Named datasets, licenses and rights for private or synthetic material, the share covered by crawler exclusions, and any removal/retraining remedy remain unavailable; Claude’s app may route among versions and tiers. ```json { "method": "training-rights-evidence-v1", "scope": "Anthropic Claude model family for the consumer Claude app; versions and tiers vary.", "components": { "provenance": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic publishes broad source classes and collection controls, not a named corpus inventory for each current Claude release.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/transparency", "https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/de8ba9b01c9ab7cbabf5c33b80b7bbc618857627/Model%5C_Card%5C_Claude%5C_3.pdf" ] }, "permissions": { "score": 0, "reason": "The reviewed current model and training disclosures describe a proprietary mixed corpus but do not document an affirmative rights basis for its material sources; crawler opt-outs are scored separately.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/transparency", "https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/0b4915911bb0d19eca5b5ee635c80fef830a37ea.pdf" ] }, "creatorControls": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic says blocking ClaudeBot through robots.txt signals that future site materials should be excluded from training datasets, and the current Opus 4.8 card says the crawler follows robots.txt. This is a narrow crawler control, not a remedy for private/third-party data.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler", "https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/0b4915911bb0d19eca5b5ee635c80fef830a37ea.pdf" ] } }, "routeDependency": null, "modelReference": null, "meaning": "Documented training-data rights safeguards. Low points may reflect missing evidence; they do not establish infringement." } ``` - [Anthropic Transparency Hub](https://www.anthropic.com/transparency) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Claude 3 Model Card](https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/de8ba9b01c9ab7cbabf5c33b80b7bbc618857627/Model%5C_Card%5C_Claude%5C_3.pdf) (primary; checked 2026-10-23) - [Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler?](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Claude Opus 4.8 System Card](https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/0b4915911bb0d19eca5b5ee635c80fef830a37ea.pdf) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Your data & privacy Finding: 6/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#privacy Consumer chats are used for model improvement under opt-in and certain safety-review or program conditions; business products have different terms. Reason: The consumer policy identifies several pathways for use, with opt-in available; users must distinguish consumer from work/API accounts. Argument: The consumer policy identifies several pathways for use, with opt-in available; users must distinguish consumer from work/API accounts. Type: evidence; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Product Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The consumer policy identifies several pathways for use, with opt-in available; users must distinguish consumer from work/API accounts. - [Is my data used for model training?](https://privacy.anthropic.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Openness Finding: 2/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#openness The Claude model selector lets paid users choose a Claude model version, but the official product material describes access through Anthropic’s hosted service and does not document downloadable Claude weights or self-hosting. Reason: Model-version choice improves control over the hosted service but does not establish inspectable weights, modification rights, reproducibility, or relocation. Argument: Model-version choice improves control over the hosted service but does not establish inspectable weights, modification rights, reproducibility, or relocation. Type: evidence; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Product Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Model-version choice improves control over the hosted service but does not establish inspectable weights, modification rights, reproducibility, or relocation. - [How can I change the model version that I’m chatting with?](https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8664678-how-can-i-change-the-model-version-that-i-m-chatting-with) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Claude pricing](https://www.anthropic.com/pricing) (primary; checked not recorded) ## Worker protections Finding: 2/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#labour Anthropic publicly requires suppliers to follow a vendor code covering labor and human rights, but public worker-specific implementation, voice and outcomes are sparse. Reason: 1 + 1 pay & conditions + 0 worker voice & remedy + 0 evidence & follow-through = 2/10. This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment. Argument: Anthropic’s July 2026 Transparency Hub says suppliers must comply with a Vendor Code of Conduct covering labor and human rights and apply equivalent standards through their own supply chains; the Trust Center lists a Global Vendor Code of Conduct, but its text is access-gated in the public interface. This supports limited credit for a supplier standard, not a finding about annotator pay, exposure controls or actual enforcement. Type: argument; confidence: low Scope (dimension): Anthropic's workforce and disclosed contractors. Coverage of individual product teams may be incomplete. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: 2026-10-23 Unknowns: The public code text, worker complaint outcomes, rates/pay, annotation supplier identities and workforce coverage were not accessible in this review; company model documentation does not establish current worker treatment. ```json { "method": "worker-safeguards-evidence-v1", "entity": "anthropic", "company": "Anthropic", "scope": "Anthropic's workforce and disclosed contractors. Coverage of individual product teams may be incomplete.", "components": { "conditions": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic states that its supplier code sets labor and human-rights requirements and cascades equivalent standards through vendor supply chains; the publicly listed code text is access-gated, so no specific working conditions or application are verified.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/transparency/voluntary-commitments", "https://trust.anthropic.com/" ] }, "voice": { "score": 0, "reason": "No public worker-specific grievance channel, opt-out, worker survey or worker representation mechanism was established in the sources reviewed.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/transparency/voluntary-commitments", "https://trust.anthropic.com/" ] }, "assurance": { "score": 0, "reason": "The Trust Center lists a vendor code and security audits for vendors handling Anthropic data, but no accessible evidence of labor audits, worker remediation or outcomes was found.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/transparency/voluntary-commitments", "https://trust.anthropic.com/" ] } }, "disclosureLimited": true, "meaning": "This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment." } ``` - [Anthropic Transparency Hub: Voluntary Commitments](https://www.anthropic.com/transparency/voluntary-commitments) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Anthropic Trust Center: Global Vendor Code of Conduct](https://trust.anthropic.com/) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Military ties Finding: 3/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#military-contracts Anthropic reported extensive, mission-critical classified use in military and national-security workflows in February 2026, including intelligence analysis and operational planning, while the current contract status and any targeting/combat-intelligence use are not established. Reason: 1 + 1 use restrictions + 1 enforcement & oversight + 2 relationship disclosure = 5, capped at 3/10. Known defense ties lower this rating; safeguards can improve it within the relationship’s cap. Argument: Anthropic’s Feb. 26, 2026 statement says Claude was extensively deployed in classified Department of War and national-security settings for intelligence analysis, modeling and simulation, operational planning and cyber operations. The same statement says Anthropic had not objected to particular operations ad hoc and that lawful foreign-intelligence use was supported, while opposing mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. This confirms broad defense enablement and named military workflow use, but does not identify target selection, strike decisions or combat-intelligence support. The statement reports the DoW was threatening offboarding; whether the deployment/contract continued by the October 2026 review date is not publicly established in the sources reviewed. Type: argument; confidence: high Scope (dimension): Anthropic's relationships and safeguards. A company relationship does not identify every product or release used. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: 2026-10-23 Unknowns: The public statement does not enumerate active task orders, system versions, unit-level deployments, operational outcomes, or independent audit results. DoW supply-chain risk litigation and court orders make access status time-sensitive; the company's current page describes the status as of its stated dates. ```json { "method": "military-ties-priority-v2", "entity": "anthropic", "company": "Anthropic", "scope": "Anthropic's relationships and safeguards. A company relationship does not identify every product or release used.", "components": { "restrictions": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic says it opposed mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons in its DoW contract discussions, but supports lawful foreign intelligence and partially autonomous weapons; the statement reports the DoW sought broader any-lawful-use terms.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war" ] }, "oversight": { "score": 1, "reason": "Anthropic states that it has safeguards and resists certain uses, but the reviewed statement provides no independent military-use review, published enforcement or remedy outcomes.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war" ] }, "transparency": { "score": 2, "reason": "Anthropic names classified deployments and use categories and reports a dispute and possible offboarding; it does not disclose actual missions, current use-level limits, or post-dispute contract status.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war" ] } }, "relationship": "broad-defense", "relationshipReason": "Anthropic reported mission-critical classified use across multiple military workflows, but the source does not establish target selection, strikes, or combat intelligence; broad-defense cap applies. Current post-dispute contract status is unknown.", "score": 3, "baseScore": 1, "safeguardPoints": 4, "safeguardAdjustment": 4, "rawScore": 5, "cap": 3, "disclosureLimited": false, "meaning": "Known military relationships take priority over missing safeguards. The rating does not establish the probability of an undisclosed contract." } ``` - [Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War](https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## BDS targets Finding: Not listed Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/claude/#israel-palestine No named target found in the two checked BNC campaign lists. Reason: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. Argument: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. Type: conditional; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Company record Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. - [BNC consumer boycott and pressure guide](https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [BNC No Tech campaign](https://bdsmovement.net/no-tech-oppression-apartheid-or-genocide) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Reading the evidence - Assessments are provisional editorial judgments. Cite the profile and the underlying sources, and retain confidence, scope and unknowns. - Unknown, not-applicable and model-dependent are different states. Missing evidence does not establish good or bad conduct. - Company-level evidence does not establish use of a particular product or model. Account plan, model, host and route can change an assessment. - Energy scores describe documented practices and transparency, not measured request emissions. Zero component points can mean an evidence gap. - Published overall scores require at least four of six numerical dimensions. Preserve coverage and BDS adjustments; BDS itself is categorical. - No named BDS target found is limited to the reviewed campaign sources and is not approval. Personalized priorities do not change the published overall score. - Review and source-check dates describe the research, not this deployment. Fetch current primary sources when the decision requires current verification. Methodology: https://ethicalstack.ai/methodology/