Anthropic wins court fight after US federal court rules Trump ban illegal

A US federal judge declared illegal on Thursday the sanctions imposed in February by the Trump administration against AI company Anthropic, finding the government had punished the company for criticizing the Pentagon. Judge Rita Lin stated in a 59-page decision seen by AFP that the government's invocation of national security was not a blank check to retaliate against government critics.

She barred federal agencies from enforcing President Donald Trump's order to stop using Anthropic's tools and overturned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's designation of the company as a "supply chain risk." The ruling makes permanent the temporary suspension of sanctions ordered in March and takes effect immediately. Anthropic's spokesperson welcomed the court's ruling, emphasizing the company's focus on working productively with the government for national security benefits.

The conflict began when Anthropic refused to allow the US military to use Claude for fully autonomous lethal weapons or mass surveillance of Americans. Trump had criticized the company, calling it a "radical left, woke company" out of control. The judge ruled that the sanctions were based on a desire to make a public example of Anthropic for its criticism of the government, rather than to counter a genuine threat.

Anthropic remains subject to a second sanction imposed by the Pentagon, based on public procurement regulations, which remains in effect pending a court ruling.