A federal judge in California has blocked the Pentagon from blacklisting the AI company Anthropic. The order was issued late Thursday by District Judge Rita Lin.
Lin ruled that the Department of Defense broke the law when it labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security. She said the move was punishment, not a real security decision.
The ruling is the newest step in a legal fight between Anthropic and the US military over how artificial intelligence should be used in war. The government is expected to appeal.
In her 59 page order, Lin wrote that national security cannot be used as an excuse to punish critics of the government. She said the Pentagon's reasoning did not hold up under review.
Autonomous Weapons And Surveillance Dispute
Anthropic sued the Pentagon in a California federal court. The lawsuit claims Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went beyond his authority when he placed the company on the risk list.
The dispute began after Anthropic refused to let the military use its Claude AI models for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. That refusal came before the blacklisting decision.
Anthropic has said AI models are not reliable enough yet to control weapons on their own. The company also opposes using its technology to watch US citizens.
The Pentagon has taken the opposite view. It argues that private companies should not be able to limit how the military uses tools it buys.
The blacklisting blocked Anthropic from bidding on military contracts. Company leaders said the ban could cost the business billions of dollars.
During a hearing on July 30, Judge Lin called the government's position "really troubling." She said it clashed with free speech protections in the Constitution.
She also said the government's case had gotten weaker as the hearing went on. Lawyers for the Department of Justice argued that AI systems are too complex to judge the same way as physical equipment.
First Use Of Rare Law
The Pentagon's move marked the first time a US company was publicly named a supply chain risk under this procurement law. The statute was originally written to guard military systems from foreign sabotage.
Anthropic argued in its lawsuit that the label violated its rights to free speech and due process. The company said it was never given a fair chance to respond before the ban was announced.
The lawsuit also said the decision ignored facts and contradicted earlier praise the military had given Claude. Anthropic called the whole process unlawful.
After the ruling, Anthropic said it wants to keep working with the government on AI for national security. The company said the goal is for all Americans to benefit from the technology.
The Pentagon has not commented on the ruling. The government is expected to challenge the decision in the coming days.
