Judge Says US Government Broke the Law With AI Firm Anthropic
A judge in the US says the government punished the AI company Anthropic illegally
Anthropic is an American AI company. It makes the AI called Claude.
The company said no to some army uses of its AI. It does not want its AI in weapons.
In February, the Pentagon called Anthropic a risk. It told other firms not to work with the company.
Anthropic went to court. It said the government broke the law.
Judge Rita Lin agreed. She said national security "is not a blank check" to punish critics.
Anthropic is happy about the ruling. The BBC asked the Pentagon and the White House to speak.
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US Judge Rules Against Pentagon in Anthropic AI Lawsuit
Judge Rita Lin says the Defense Department acted unlawfully after Anthropic refused some military uses of its AI
A US judge has ruled that the government acted illegally against the American AI company Anthropic, the maker of Claude.
The problem started because Anthropic refused to let the military use its AI models for things like surveillance or autonomous weapons. The company said its models were not reliable enough to be used safely in weapons systems. It also said that using its AI to watch people inside the country was a violation of rights.
In February, the Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. This designation is usually only used for companies in countries that are a threat to the US. It was the first time an American company was publicly designated in this way.
Anthropic then went to court. It said the government's actions were "unprecedented and unlawful", and that its business and its freedom of speech had been damaged.
Judge Rita Lin said that national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics". Anthropic welcomed the ruling. The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
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Judge Rules Trump Administration Illegally Retaliated Against Anthropic
US district judge Rita Lin said the Defense Department acted unlawfully when it told firms to boycott the AI company
A US judge has ruled that the Trump administration illegally retaliated against the AI company Anthropic, which has been at loggerheads with the Pentagon over the use of AI by the US military.
In its lawsuit, Anthropic argued that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had overstepped his authority. In February, the Pentagon designated the company as a supply-chain risk, a law typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the US. It was the first time an American company had been publicly designated in this way. The move followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use its AI models for purposes including surveillance or autonomous weapons.
US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics". She said the Defense Department had acted unlawfully when it ordered firms that do business with the military to boycott Anthropic. In an earlier round in the case, she said the government was trying to "cripple" the company and "chill public debate", adding: "This appears to be classic First Amendment retaliation."
The Claude-maker said its models were not reliable enough to be used safely in weapons systems, and that it opposed their use for domestic surveillance as a violation of rights. The Pentagon said at the time that private companies should not be able to constrain military action, and argued that Anthropic's refusal to accept new contract terms raised concerns about what the company could do with its technology.
Anthropic welcomed the ruling. A spokesperson told the BBC the company was focused on "working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology". The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
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