US Judge Says Ban On AI Company Anthropic Was Illegal
Judge Rita Lin ruled on Thursday that the government acted against the law when it stopped using Anthropic's AI.
Anthropic is a US company. It makes an AI called Claude.
This year, the government called the company a "supply chain risk".
Then government offices could not buy Anthropic's AI tools.
The company said no to some army uses of Claude. It did not want AI weapons or mass watching of people.
Anthropic went to court. It said the government punished it for its words.
On Thursday, Judge Rita Lin said the government broke the law.
The government may appeal. A second court case is not finished.
Understood everything? Read this story at A2.
Judge Rita Lin Rules Pentagon Ban On Anthropic Was Unlawful
The US company said the label of "supply chain risk" could cost it billions of dollars.
A US judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration broke the law when it called the AI company Anthropic a "supply chain risk" earlier this year.
The problem started because Anthropic refused to let the government use its Claude AI for fully autonomous weapons or for mass surveillance inside the country. The defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, then accused the company of "arrogance and betrayal".
The "supply chain risk" label is normally used for foreign companies, and it would have stopped government offices from doing business with Anthropic. Anthropic said this could cost the company billions of dollars and hurt its reputation.
Judge Rita Lin wrote a 59-page decision. She said the government could not use national security as an excuse to punish people who criticise it. In March she had stopped the government's measures for a short time, and now that decision is permanent.
"We welcome the court's ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful," an Anthropic spokesperson said. The government may appeal, and a second court case in Washington DC has not finished yet.
Understood everything? Read this story at B1.
US Judge Overturns Pentagon's Supply Chain Risk Label For Anthropic
Judge Rita Lin said the measures against the AI company were illegal and baseless after it refused defence department demands.
A US judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration broke the law when it designated the AI company Anthropic as a supply chain risk earlier this year. Judge Rita Lin found that the government had unlawfully targeted the firm for refusing to comply with defence department demands.
"The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," Lin said in a 59-page decision. She added: "Though the Department of War is undisputedly free to select the AI vendor of its choice, the evidence demonstrates that the broad measures imposed on Anthropic were illegal and baseless."
The ruling barred the federal agencies named in the lawsuit from enforcing Donald Trump's order to stop using Anthropic's tools, and it overturned the designation made by the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth. The status, usually reserved for foreign firms, would have blocked government agencies from doing business with the company. It was the first time a US company had been publicly placed in that category.
The case grew out of a months-long dispute at the start of the year. Anthropic refused to allow the government to use its Claude AI model for fully autonomous lethal weapons or domestic mass surveillance, and Hegseth accused the company of "arrogance and betrayal". In its lawsuit of 9 March, Anthropic said the government had violated its right to free speech and had not given it a chance to dispute the designation.
"We welcome the court's ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful," an Anthropic spokesperson said. The government may appeal, and a second lawsuit in Washington DC is still pending. Anthropic had warned that the designation could cost it billions of dollars. The company is planning an IPO later this year that could value it at $2tn.
Too difficult? Read this story at A2 or at A1.