The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition The twist in the Ticketmaster antitrust fight
Mar 10, 2026
Lauren Feiner, tech reporter covering antitrust and Live Nation/Ticketmaster, breaks down the surprise settlement and its courtroom twists. Hayden Field, senior AI reporter, walks through Anthropic, OpenAI, and the Pentagon’s fraught dealings. They discuss settlement terms, DOJ strategy, supply chain risks, and how defense contracts reshape AI companies.
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Watch For Judge Questions To Reveal Settlement Details
- Expect further courtroom disclosures: the judge planned to question Live Nation's CEO and DOJ antitrust leadership about the term sheet.
- Follow-up hearings will reveal negotiation details and whether states will continue the case.
Why Anthropic Was Essential To The Pentagon
- Anthropic became uniquely embedded with the DoD by being first to deploy models on classified networks and national labs.
- Hayden Field says that deep integration made Anthropic a go-to supplier for many defense use cases, including operations in Iran.
Supply Chain Designation Limits Pentagon Use Not All Clients
- The government designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk, but clients say they can keep using Claude outside Pentagon work by isolating uses.
- Hayden notes Microsoft and others will restrict Claude from DoD work but continue enterprise usage under barriers.