US judge rules against Trump administration’s blacklisting of Anthropic
A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic by designating the AI company a supply-chain risk, finding that the action violated the company’s First Amendment rights.
A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration violated Anthropic’s constitutional rights when it designated the artificial intelligence company as a supply-chain risk.
US District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California found that the administration had not provided sufficient evidence that Anthropic posed an actual national security risk. Instead, she concluded that the designation amounted to unlawful retaliation following the company’s public disagreement with the Pentagon over how its AI systems could be used.
The court ordered the administration to withdraw guidance, directives and other measures connected to blacklisting Anthropic and its designation as a supply-chain risk.
The dispute followed negotiations between Anthropic and the US Defense Department over the military use of the company’s Claude AI models. Anthropic had sought restrictions on the use of its systems for fully autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance, while the Pentagon argued that the military should be able to use the technology for all lawful purposes.
The disagreement eventually led the Defense Department to move against Anthropic, while other US government agencies continued using the company’s AI systems. Judge Lin noted that the continued government use of Anthropic’s models appeared inconsistent with the Pentagon’s claim that the company represented a national security risk.
The ruling could affect Anthropic’s government contracts and its relationship with the Pentagon, which had indicated that it planned to stop using the company’s models by the end of September. Competitors, including OpenAI, have been seeking to expand their presence in government AI contracts.
The Trump administration can appeal the decision, and a separate case concerning the supply-chain risk designation is pending before a federal appeals court in Washington. Anthropic said it welcomed the ruling and remained focused on working with the government on national security applications of AI.
