A San Francisco federal judge has struck down the Pentagon’s aggressive attempt to brand Anthropic a supply chain risk, effectively severing government ties with the AI innovator over its ethical boundaries on military use.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled the designation trampled the company’s First Amendment rights and due process protections, delivering a major win for tech firms resisting defence pressures.
The row ignited when Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, refused to relax restrictions on its Claude model that prohibit lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. Backed by billions from Amazon and Google, the firm has championed AI safety amid fierce global competition.
“Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the U.S. for expressing disagreement with the government,” Lin wrote in her pointed 43-page ruling. The Biden appointee delayed enforcement for a week to allow an appeal but made clear her disdain for what she saw as retaliation.
This marks another judicial slap for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose tenure has drawn fire for free speech clampdowns, including recent DC rulings against his media policies and interference with a senator’s troop directives.
Anthropic welcomed the outcome. “We’re grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits,” a spokesperson said. “While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI.”
Previously limited to foreign threats like Huawei, the label would have barred contractors from Anthropic tech, imperilling vast contracts. Lin cited DoD records showing the move stemmed from the firm’s public critiques.
“These broad measures do not appear to be directed at the government’s stated national security interests,” she noted, adding, “Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the government’s contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.”
DoD tech chief Emil Michael decried it. “We can’t have a company that has a different policy preference that is baked into the model pollute the supply chain so our warfighters are getting ineffective weapons, ineffective body armor, ineffective protection,” he told CNBC. He plans an appeal, slamming the “disgrace” on X for alleged errors amid conflict.
The verdict underscores tensions in U.S. AI strategy, where safety clashes with wartime needs.