US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin blocked the Pentagon's decision to blacklist Anthropic, a company that creates AI chatbots. Anthropic sued in California federal court, arguing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he labeled the company a national security supply-chain risk. This designation could prevent Anthropic from obtaining certain military contracts.
Lin ruled the Pentagon's move illegal and baseless, stating that the government cannot punish or retaliate against government critics using this blank check. Anthropic accused the Pentagon of violating its First Amendment right to free speech and its Fifth Amendment right to due process by not providing a chance to dispute the designation.
The Pentagon argued that Anthropic's refusal to participate in certain contracts was the reason for the designation, not its stance on AI safety. Lin emphasized that the government's invocation of national security was not a license to harm critics. This marks the first time a private company has been publicly labeled a supply-chain risk under this obscure government procurement statute.
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Also reported by 7 other outlets
- US court rules ban of Anthropic unlawful, punished for ‘publicly criticising’ Pentagon hindustantimes.com
- US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting channelnewsasia.com
- US court rules Pentagon ban of Anthropic unlawful freemalaysiatoday.com
- A US court has stopped the blocking of AI company Anthropic by the Pentagon. handelsblatt.com
- A US judge blocks the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, ruling that its designation as a supply-chain risk was "illegal and baseless" (Jack Queen/Reuters) reuters.com
- Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic was unconstitutional, judge rules qz.com
- Judge blocks Pentagon blacklist of Anthropic as supply chain risk cnbc.com
