US Judge Strikes Down Pentagon’s Anthropic Ban
A US federal judge has ruled that the Pentagon acted unlawfully when it designated artificial intelligence company Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk following a dispute over military use of its Claude AI models. The court found that the action amounted to unlawful retaliation and violated constitutional protections.
Judge Rules Pentagon Anthropic Blacklisting Unlawful
US District Judge Rita Lin overturned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk and blocked federal agencies from enforcing restrictions linked to the decision.
In her ruling, Lin found that the Pentagon’s action was arbitrary and unsupported by the statutory framework used to justify it. She also concluded that Anthropic had been subjected to retaliation over its public criticism of unrestricted military applications of artificial intelligence.
The ruling makes permanent an earlier temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the measures.
Anthropic Opposed Autonomous Weapons and Surveillance
The dispute began after Anthropic refused to allow its Claude AI models to be used without restrictions for military purposes.
The company opposed using its technology for fully autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, arguing that current AI systems are not sufficiently reliable for certain lethal applications.
The Pentagon maintained that private technology companies should not be able to impose restrictions on lawful military operations.
Court Finds First Amendment Retaliation
Anthropic argued that the government’s action violated its First Amendment right to free speech and its Fifth Amendment right to due process.
The court agreed that the government had unlawfully retaliated against the company and rejected national security as sufficient justification for the designation.
Anthropic welcomed the decision and said it remained willing to work with the US government on responsible AI applications for national security.
The US government retains the option of appealing the ruling.
