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Trump administration illegally retaliated against Anthropic, judge rules
Confirmed
On Thursday, a judge ruled that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic earlier this year was unconstitutional, delivering the AI lab a win in a monthslong rollercoaster of a battle with the Trump administration. A judge has ruled the US Department of Defense acted unlawfully when it designated artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic a supply chain risk, calling the move "illegal and baseless".
Judge Lin said in the court filing that the Defense Department had acted unlawfully to order firms that do business with the US military to boycott Anthropic. Less than 24 hours before that ultimatum, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a statement that the company wouldn’t change its stance, writing that the company has “never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner” but that in a “narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.
With the two sides unable to reach a deal, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude earlier this year, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the firm a supply chain risk , aiming to prevent private defense contractors from using it to do work for the military.
Lin said her order does not require the government to use Anthropic or stop it from giving another AI firm its business, "so long as those actions are consistent with applicable regulations, statutes, and constitutional provisions.
The White House had previously said Anthropic was "a radical left, woke company" attempting to control military activity" and argued the military was beholden to the US Constitution, "not any woke AI company's terms of service".
Anthropic sought to prevent Claude from being used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, but the military argued it should be allowed to use the model for all lawful purposes. She said those moves weren't authorized by law, and the president's directive was a "retaliatory act, taken without due process, meant to punish Anthropic for its protected speech.
Judge Lin said during an earlier round in the lawsuit that the government was trying to "cripple" the company and "chill public debate" over military use of AI. In a statement on Thursday, Anthropic spokesperson Danielle Ghiglieri said, “We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful.
She also argued the fears of sabotage are tough to square with the government's continued interest in collaborating with Anthropic on advanced AI models. US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics".
What's confirmed
- On Thursday, a judge ruled that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic earlier this year was unconstitutional, delivering the AI lab a win in a monthslong rollercoaster of a battle with the Trump administration.
- Judge Lin said in the court filing that the Defense Department had acted unlawfully to order firms that do business with the US military to boycott Anthropic.
- With the two sides unable to reach a deal, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude earlier this year, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the firm a supply chain risk , aiming to prevent pri
- Lin said her order does not require the government to use Anthropic or stop it from giving another AI firm its business, "so long as those actions are consistent with applicable regulations, statutes, and constitutional
- The White House had previously said Anthropic was "a radical left, woke company" attempting to control military activity" and argued the military was beholden to the US Constitution, "not any woke AI company's terms of s
- Anthropic sought to prevent Claude from being used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, but the military argued it should be allowed to use the model for all lawful purposes.
What's still developing
- A judge has ruled the US Department of Defense acted unlawfully when it designated artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic a supply chain risk, calling the move "illegal and baseless".
- US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics".
- Judge Lin said in the court filing that the Defense Department had acted unlawfully to order firms that do business with the US military to boycott Anthropic.
- Anthropic's lawsuit said the government's actions were both "unprecedented and unlawful".
- The White House had previously said Anthropic was "a radical left, woke company" attempting to control military activity" and argued the military was beholden to the US Constitution, "not any woke AI company's terms…
- The Pentagon also argued that Anthropic's refusal to accept new contract terms raised concerns over what the company could do with its technology.
- Anthropic said in its lawsuit that its business had been impacted by the government's actions and its right to freedom of speech had been violated.
- Judge Lin said during an earlier round in the lawsuit that the government was trying to "cripple" the company and "chill public debate" over military use of AI.