Federal judge finds Anthropic blacklisting violated constitutional protections
A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to blacklist AI company Anthropic was unlawful, delivering a major legal setback to the administration in its dispute with the maker of Claude.
US District Judge Rita F. Lin found that the Pentagon’s designation of Anthropic as a national security “supply chain risk” amounted to unlawful retaliation against the company and violated its First Amendment rights. She also ruled that Anthropic was denied the procedural protections required under the Fifth Amendment.
The dispute began after Anthropic refused to allow the US military to use its AI models for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently designated the company a supply-chain risk, a move that restricted Anthropic from certain military contracts and could have caused billions of dollars in losses.
Judge Lin rejected the government’s reliance on national security as sufficient justification for the action. In her 59-page ruling, she said the evidence showed the administration’s actions were intended to retaliate against Anthropic for publicly criticising the Pentagon rather than being based on a demonstrated security threat.
The ruling directs the government to rescind directives and communications that blacklisted Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. The administration is expected to appeal the decision, while Anthropic has welcomed the ruling as a victory in its ongoing fight over how its AI technology can be used by the military.
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