Judge rules Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic unlawful

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration's blacklisting of AI company Anthropic was unlawful, citing violations of the First and Fifth Amendments. The Pentagon had designated Anthropic a supply chain risk after the company refused to remove safety restrictions on its AI products, preventing their use in lethal autonomous warfare and mass surveillance.

Judge Rita Lin stated in her ruling that the government illegally retaliated against Anthropic by designating it a supply-chain risk to national security. The ruling noted that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered federal agencies to permanently stop using Anthropic’s products and banned all defense contractors from doing business with the company, even if unrelated to the military.

Lin vacated these government actions, deeming them arbitrary and capricious and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. She found that Anthropic did not meet the legal definition of a supply-chain risk, which is intended for covert acts or hacks, not public stances on contract terms. The judge emphasized that national security is not a blank check to punish government critics.

Anthropic had sued the administration in March, arguing that the blacklisting was retaliation for its refusal to allow its Claude AI models to be used for autonomous warfare and mass surveillance. The company asserted its First Amendment right to express views on AI safety limitations and contended that the government's designation process did not comply with congressional mandates.

The Trump administration had previously won an early ruling denying Anthropic's emergency motion for a stay, but the case is still under review by the DC Circuit Appeals Court. Meanwhile, Judge Lin issued a preliminary injunction on March 26, prohibiting the government from implementing the challenged orders. The Computer & Communications Industry Association welcomed the ruling, stating it is significant for businesses contracting with the US government.