US Court Strikes Down Government Ban on AI Firm Anthropic
A US federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's ban on AI startup Anthropic, calling the action unlawful retaliation.
A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it blacklisted the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, blocking the government from barring the firm from federal contracts.
In a 59-page ruling, Judge Rita Lin of the US District Court for the Northern District of California found that the government had retaliated against Anthropic for exercising its constitutional right to free speech. The company had publicly expressed its views on how its AI technology should be used.
"The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," Judge Lin wrote.
Anthropic welcomed the decision, stating it was "pleased the court has ruled that this supply-chain-risk designation was unlawful." The company added that it remains focused on working with the government to use AI for national security.
The dispute began over a $200 million contract for Anthropic to provide AI technology to the Pentagon for classified systems. Anthropic sought assurances that its technology would not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for autonomous lethal weapons. The Pentagon rejected these conditions, arguing that a private company could not dictate policy.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk," which barred the company from working with any military contractor or supplier.
Anthropic filed two lawsuits in March challenging the designation, arguing that the relevant laws did not apply to US-based firms and that the action was politically motivated and violated its First Amendment rights.
Judge Lin also noted there was no evidence to support the government's claim that Anthropic could "flip some kind of kill switch" to disable its AI models during wartime.
The ruling resolves the first of the two lawsuits. A second case, filed in a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, remains pending. The administration could appeal this decision or await the outcome of the other case.