A federal judge in San Francisco has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing rules that blacklisted AI firm Anthropic. The judge ruled that the Department of Defense's designation of the company as a national security supply-chain risk was illegal and baseless.
The court determined that the government's actions constituted unlawful retaliation against the startup for its constitutionally protected expressive activities. Specifically, the judge found that the Pentagon acted illegally by punishing Anthropic for its criticism of the Department of Defense's views on the use of AI on the battlefield.
The Defense Department had barred the U.S. military from using Anthropic's Claude in March, a move that executives said could cost the company billions of dollars. The government is expected to fight the ruling.