A US court has issued a temporary injunction to block Anthropic from being blacklisted by the Pentagon, the latest in a dispute between Claude developer and the Department of Defense over safety standards for artificial intelligence in combat.
A US court has issued a temporary injunction to block Anthropic from being blacklisted by the Pentagon, the latest in a dispute between Claude developer and the Department of Defense over safety standards for artificial intelligence in combat.
Anthropic’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in California , alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority by designating the company a “national security supply chain risk,” a designation the government can apply to companies whose activities pose a threat to adversaries’ access to military systems or sabotage.
Anthropic claims that the government violated its First Amendment right to free speech by imposing sanctions in response to the company's stance on AI safety. The company also said it was not given an opportunity to appeal the decision, which violates its Fifth Amendment right to due process.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, agreed with the company's arguments. But she noted that the decision will not take effect for seven days to give the administration a chance to appeal, Reuters reports .
In a ruling issued Thursday, Lin noted that the administration's actions did not appear to be aimed at protecting the government's stated national security interests, but rather aimed at punishing Anthropic.
“The record supports the conclusion that Anthropic is being punished for criticizing the government’s contracting practices in the press,” Lin wrote. “Punishing Anthropic for drawing public attention to the government’s contracting practices is a classic example of unlawful retaliation for exercising First Amendment rights.”
Anthropic spokeswoman Danielle Cohen said the company was pleased with the decision.
“While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and partners, we remain focused on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe and reliable artificial intelligence,” Cohen said in a statement.
Anthropic's designation marked the first time an American company has been publicly identified as posing a supply chain risk under an obscure government procurement law designed to protect military systems from foreign sabotage.
Another lawsuit by Anthropic is pending in Washington, D.C., over a separate Pentagon decision designating the company as a supply chain threat, a status that could result in its exclusion from civilian government contracts.
