Federal Judge Rules Trump Administration’s Supply Chain Risk Designation Of Anthropic Was Illegal
aiinsider ·
A federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision amounted to unconstitutional retaliation that violated the First Amendment, was arbitrary and capricious, and denied Anthropic due process under the Fifth Amendment. The designation had directed federal agencies to stop working with Anthropic after the company refused to relax safety guardrails that would have allowed its models to be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of American citizens. Judge Lin noted government actions and statements indicated the designation was meant to publicly punish Anthropic for criticizing the administration, and cited inconsistencies such as Hegseth's separate proposal to invoke the Defense Production Act and continued Defense Department interest in contracting with the company. The ruling also stated that Anthropic had no backdoor access to its technology once handed over to the department, and that national security justifications could not be used to retaliate against critics. An Anthropic spokesperson welcomed the ruling and said the company remained focused on working productively with the government on national security applications. Anthropic had filed separate complaints in California and Washington, D.C., with the latter case still ongoing.
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