A federal judge ruled that the Defense Department unlawfully targeted Anthropic after the AI company restricted certain military uses of its technology.
A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s Department of Defense acted unlawfully against AI company Anthropic after the company refused to permit certain military uses of its technology.
US District Judge Rita Lin described the Pentagon’s decision to designate Anthropic as a supply-chain risk as “illegal and baseless,” according to the case details provided. She also said national security does not give the government unlimited authority to punish companies or organizations for expressing concerns about government policy.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot. Anthropic argued that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth exceeded his authority by taking action against the company.
The dispute began after Anthropic rejected certain proposed uses of its AI models by the US military. The company said its technology could not safely support weapons systems and opposed using its models for domestic surveillance, citing concerns about safety and civil rights.
The Pentagon took a different position, arguing that private technology companies should not be able to impose restrictions on military operations. Officials also questioned whether Anthropic could control how the military used its technology under government contracts.
In February, the Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. The US government generally uses such designations for companies linked to countries it considers security threats. Anthropic became the first publicly known US company to receive the designation.
Judge Says Government Went Too Far
Judge Lin found that the Defense Department acted unlawfully by ordering companies working with the military to stop doing business with Anthropic.
She said national security cannot be used as a justification for punishing companies that disagree with government policy. The judge had previously raised concerns about the government’s actions, saying they appeared aimed at weakening Anthropic and discouraging public discussion about military applications of AI.
The case also raised potential First Amendment concerns involving government retaliation against protected speech.
Anthropic argued that the government’s actions harmed its business and violated its constitutional rights.
Anthropic Welcomes Decision
Anthropic welcomed the ruling and said it remains interested in working with the US government on national security applications of AI.
A company spokesperson said Anthropic wants to work with the government to develop AI applications that can benefit Americans while addressing security concerns.
The ruling could have broader implications for the growing relationship between AI companies and the US military. As governments increasingly seek advanced AI systems for defense and national security, technology companies face difficult decisions over how their models can be used.
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