President Donald Trump listens as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a cabinet meeting. (AP Photo)
US District Judge Rita Lin said the government’s decision to designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” was unlawful and violated the company’s constitutional rights, according to the BBC. “The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Lin said in her 59-page ruling. Lin said the government’s actions appeared to be aimed at punishing Anthropic for challenging the administration rather than addressing a genuine national security threat. In an earlier stage of the case, she had said the government appeared to be trying to “cripple” the company and “chill public debate” over military use of AI.
A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in targeting AI firm Anthropic after it resisted certain military uses of its models, saying national security cannot be used to justify retaliation against government critics. The ruling blocks federal agencies named in Anthropic’s lawsuit from enforcing President Donald Trump’s directive restricting the use of the company’s Claude AI tools. The administration can challenge the ruling before a higher court.
The decision makes permanent an earlier temporary suspension of the sanctions and takes effect immediately.