The dispute grew out of negotiations over military access to Claude. Anthropic sought restrictions preventing its technology from being used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, while the Defense Department wanted authority to use the models for any lawful purpose. Those negotiations ultimately broke down, and the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk. The action prevented Defense Department contractors from using Anthropic technology in work for the agency.
Lin rejected the government’s argument that Anthropic’s criticism of the department created a legitimate national security concern about the reliability of its technology. “Neither the Constitution nor the federal statute invoked by Defendants allows them to impose sweeping penalties based principally on Anthropic’s critique of the Administration’s views,” Lin wrote.
She also found evidence that the Pentagon intended to punish Anthropic publicly rather than acting on a concrete concern that the company might compromise its models. “The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Lin wrote, adding that the record indicated the government wanted to make a “public example out of Anthropic for its ‘arrogance’ in criticizing the government, not based on any articulable basis to believe that Anthropic would actually sabotage its model.”
Lin noted that other parts of the federal government continued to work with and meet with Anthropic after the Pentagon imposed the designation, undercutting the department’s argument that the company posed a genuine security threat. “None of that is consistent with a genuine fear that Anthropic is a saboteur who would poison its software to harm national security,” she wrote.
Anthropic sued after being blacklisted, challenging the government’s actions in separate cases in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The Pentagon relied on two different legal designations, requiring the disputes to proceed in separate courts. Thursday’s decision gives Anthropic a significant win in the San Francisco case, but the Washington litigation remains unresolved. Until that proceeding is settled, the company technically remains subject to a separate supply chain risk designation.
Anthropic welcomed Lin’s ruling while signaling that it still wants to work with the federal government. “We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful,” an Anthropic spokesperson said. “We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.”
Anthropic has said its lawsuits are aimed at restoring its business position to where it stood before the Pentagon’s action. A legal victory would not require the Defense Department to resume working with the company, but removing the designation would eliminate a barrier that restricted Anthropic’s ability to do business with Pentagon contractors.
This analysis is based on reporting from CNBC.
Image courtesy of digwatch.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
