A federal judge in California ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk was illegal. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin called the Defense Secretary's labeling of Anthropic as a threat to national security 'unlawful retaliation' in violation of the First Amendment. The ruling also stated the decision was 'arbitrary and capricious' and that Anthropic was denied due process under the Fifth Amendment. The ruling followed earlier actions by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump, who labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk and ordered federal agencies to stop working with the Claude maker. The dispute arose from Anthropic's refusal to allow the Pentagon to use its models for fully autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of American citizens. The Pentagon denied using Anthropic models for anything but lawful purposes and claimed Anthropic could attempt to control the military's use of its technology. In her ruling, Lin pointed out the government's 'words and deeds confirm that the challenged actions were based on a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its 'arrogance' in criticizing the government.' She highlighted the inconsistency between the supply-chain label and other actions, such as Hegseth's proposal to apply the Defense Production Act to Anthropic, which would classify the company as essential to national security. Lin also noted the Department of Defense's ongoing pursuit of a contract with Anthropic and its collaboration with the company's new model, Mythos, for cybersecurity. She emphasized that Anthropic 'undisputedly lacks' any backdoor access to its technology once it hands it over to the DOD. '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,' Lin wrote. 'The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,' she added. Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement shared with TechCrunch, 'We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful. We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.' Anthropic filed two complaints against the DOD in March in California and Washington, D.C. The D.C. suit is still ongoing. TechCrunch has reached out to the DOD for comment.
Source: techcrunch
