Judge Rules DOD Unlawfully Retaliated Against Anthropic
A federal judge has sided with Anthropic on its claims that the Department of Defense illegally retaliated against Anthropic’s protected speech by labeling the AI company a “supply chain risk.” The judge found that designation, intended to penalize Anthropic for telling the U.S. military it would not allow their technology to be used for mass surveillance of U.S. persons, “constituted unlawful…
A federal judge ruled that the Department of Defense unlawfully retaliated against AI company Anthropic by labeling it a "supply chain risk." This decision was the result of Anthropic's protected speech opposing the military's plan to use its AI for mass surveillance of U.S. persons. The judge found that the Pentagon's actions violated Anthropic's First Amendment rights.
The EFF joined other organizations in filing amicus briefs, highlighting the unconstitutional nature of the Pentagon's actions. While the ruling acknowledges the dangers of government punishment for critical speech, it leaves open the broader issue of whether a company's choices about technology use should be considered protected speech.
Despite the ruling, the EFF urges lawmakers to address the larger problem of inadequate privacy protections, as Congress has failed to enact statutory safeguards to prevent such retaliation.
Written by urgent.news from EFF Deeplinks's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
