A federal judge has determined that the Department of Defense violated the law when it classified artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a supply chain risk earlier this year. The designation marked the first time an American company had been publicly placed in this category, a classification typically used for firms based in countries deemed threatening to US interests.
Anthropics challenged the move in court, arguing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth exceeded his authority. The company had declined to allow military use of its artificial intelligence models for surveillance and autonomous weapons applications. According to the company, its technology was not sufficiently reliable for military weapons systems and the organization opposed its deployment for domestic surveillance on constitutional grounds.
US District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the government acted unlawfully in ordering military contractors to boycott Anthropic and stated that national security concerns cannot serve as justification for retaliatory action against government critics. The judge previously indicated the case appeared to constitute First Amendment retaliation and reflected an attempt to suppress public debate regarding military applications of artificial intelligence technology.
The Pentagon had argued that private companies should not be permitted to restrict military operations and raised concerns about what Anthropic might do with its technology. White House officials had characterized Anthropic as a left-leaning company attempting to control military activities and stated the military operates under constitutional authority rather than corporate policies.
Anthropics said its business had suffered as a result of the government actions and that its freedom of speech rights had been violated. A company spokesperson indicated the organization remains committed to working cooperatively with government agencies on artificial intelligence applications for national security purposes.
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