Court Rules AI Communications Not Privileged
Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) ruled on February 10, 2026 in U.S. v. Heppner that written exchanges between defendant Benjamin Heppner and Anthropic's generative AI Claude are not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. The court cited the absence of an attorney-client relationship, Claude's privacy policy disclosing data collection and sharing, and Heppner's voluntary use, exposing such communications to government inspection.
Key Points
- 1Finds that communications with Anthropic's Claude are not attorney-client privileged in this case
- 2Cites lack of attorney relationship, user notice in privacy policy, and no reasonable confidentiality
- 3Warns clients and counsel that AI platform inputs may waive privilege and be discoverable
Scoring Rationale
Official SDNY ruling establishes clear precedent limiting AI-privilege claims, with broad applicability to counsel practices and client communications.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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