US Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Blacklisting of AI Startup Anthropic

A US federal judge blocked the Trump administration's blacklisting of AI startup Anthropic. The judge ruled the action was unlawful retaliation for the company's protected speech after it raised concerns about its technology's use by the government.

A US federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from blacklisting AI startup Anthropic, ruling that the action against the company was unlawful. The Trump administration labelled the AI start-up a security risk and prohibited the company from working with the US government.

However, in a 59-page ruling, Judge Rita Lin of the US District Court for the Northern District of California stated that the government had unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic "for constitutionally protected expressive activities" after the company spoke out about how its technology should be used, The New York Times reported. "The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," she wrote.

In a statement, Anthropic said it was "pleased the court has ruled that this supply-chain-risk designation was unlawful." "We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness A.I. for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," the statement reads. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment, The New York Times said.

Legal Challenges and Next Steps

The ruling resolves the first of two lawsuits Anthropic filed in March challenging the Trump administration's actions against the company. The second case, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, remains ongoing. The Trump administration could appeal Judge Lin's decision or wait for a ruling in the separate case before deciding its next steps, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Conflict Over Pentagon Contract

The conflict escalated earlier this year over a USD 200 million contract for Anthropic to provide AI technology to the Pentagon for use on classified systems. Anthropic sought assurances that its technology would not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous lethal weapons. The Pentagon, however, argued that a private company could not dictate policy to the US government.

When the two sides could not come to an agreement, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then announced that Anthropic was a "supply chain risk," which meant no contractor or supplier that works with the military can do business with Anthropic.

On March 9, Anthropic filed two lawsuits challenging the government's designation, arguing that the laws governing the classification of companies as supply chain risks were narrowly defined and did not apply to US-based firms. The company also alleged that the designation was politically motivated and intended to punish it, while arguing that the move violated its First Amendment rights.

Judge Questions Government's Rationale

Before issuing her ruling, Judge Lin described the Pentagon's argument that Anthropic's criticism of the government justified barring the company from federal contracts as "really troubling." She also said there was no evidence supporting the government's claim that Anthropic could potentially "flip some kind of kill switch" to disable or modify its AI models during wartime. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)