Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was unlawful, US judge rules

A US judge has declared the Trump administration's decision to label AI company Anthropic as a supply chain risk unlawful, according to a report from The Guardian. Judge Rita Lin, in a 59-page decision, stated that the government's actions were a violation of Anthropic's First Amendment rights. The ruling bars federal agencies from enforcing the administration's order to stop using Anthropic's tools and overturns the designation of the company as a supply chain risk, which would have restricted government agencies from doing business with the firm.

The dispute began earlier this year when Anthropic refused to permit the Pentagon to utilize its Claude AI model for fully autonomous lethal weapons or domestic mass surveillance. Anthropic accused the government of arrogance and betrayal. Lin's ruling temporarily halted the government's punitive measures in March, but the permanent nature of the decision means the government may still appeal the ruling.

Anthropic expressed satisfaction with the court's decision that the supply chain risk designation was unlawful.