US Court Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Firm Anthropic

A US federal judge has blocked the Pentagon's attempt to blacklist Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, in a ruling that marks a significant setback for the military's efforts to restrict the firm's access to contracts.

US District Judge Rita Lin issued a 59-page order on Thursday finding that the Defense Department's designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk was "illegal and baseless." The judge, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that "the empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics."

The dispute began when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk after the company refused to allow the military to use Claude for surveillance or autonomous weapons. Anthropic has argued that AI models are not yet reliable enough for such applications and that domestic surveillance violates fundamental rights.

The designation, the first time a US company has been publicly blacklisted under the obscure procurement statute, blocked Anthropic from certain military contracts. The company said the move could cost billions in lost business and cause reputational damage.

In its lawsuit filed in California, Anthropic alleged the government violated its First Amendment rights by retaliating against its views on AI safety. The company also argued it was denied due process under the Fifth Amendment because it had no opportunity to contest the designation.

The Justice Department countered that Anthropic's restrictions could create uncertainty about how the military could use Claude and potentially disable systems during operations. The government maintained the designation was based on contractual disagreements, not the company's opinions.

Anthropic has a separate pending lawsuit in Washington, DC, challenging a different Pentagon designation that could affect its civilian government contracts.