Judge Rita Lin of the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the government’s response to Anthropic was unlawful, amid a legal dispute between the US government and the artificial intelligence company over the company’s statements about how its technology should be used.
Lin said national security grounds alone could not be used to punish or retaliate against people who criticize the government. The ruling stated: "The unsupported invocation of national security is not a blank check for punishing and retaliating against government critics."
Military use of the Claude model heightened tensions
Anthropic’s refusal to make its Claude model available for all lawful military purposes, along with its security concerns regarding military use, led to a dispute between the company and the Pentagon.
On February 24, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Anthropic that the company risked losing government contracts unless it allowed the Pentagon to use its artificial intelligence technology as it wished by February 27.
On February 27, following the dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic, US President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to immediately stop using Anthropic’s technology.
On March 6, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply-chain security risk. The decision followed the company’s statement that it could not accept the use of its artificial intelligence technology to surveil US citizens or develop fully autonomous weapons.
On March 9, Anthropic filed two lawsuits against the US government. The company argued that it had been unlawfully retaliated against because of Pentagon officials’ stance on artificial intelligence safety.
Anthropic says it will continue working with the government
Anthropic said it would remain focused on working productively with the US government so that all Americans could benefit from the technology and artificial intelligence could be used for national security purposes.
