Judge rejects Pentagon injunction: Anthropic says 'supply chain risk' determination is illegal

In one sentence, the White House’s statement is untenable. "Bland invocations of national security are not a blank check for punishing and retaliating against government critics." These are the words written by U.S. Federal District Judge Rita Lin in a 59-page ruling on the U.S. Department of Defense's supply chain risk determination of Anthropic. CNBC reported that the judge ruled in the ruling that the restrictions imposed by the Department of Defense on Anthropic and its Claude model were "illegal and unwarranted."

This controversy dates back to the end of February this year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put pressure on Anthropic to remove some of the security protections from its AI systems. But Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is clear: the company will not allow its models to be used for mass surveillance, nor will it be used to develop autonomous weapons systems. Negotiations reached a stalemate, and Trump later announced on social media that all federal agencies must stop using Claude and Anthropic's other services during a six-month transition period. Anthropic therefore became the first company in the United States to be officially listed as a supply chain risk.

Anthropic immediately filed lawsuits against the White House in two federal courts, targeting two different risk determinations. Judge Lin's ruling gives the company a victory in one of its lawsuits and prohibits certain federal agencies from continuing to enforce Trump's order to deactivate Anthropic tools. However, another recognized lawsuit is still pending, and until then Anthropic still carries the label of "supply chain risk." It is worth making clear that even if Anthropic wins both cases, the Pentagon is under no obligation to resume cooperation with this company.

"We are pleased that the court ruled that this supply chain risk determination was unlawful," an Anthropic spokesperson told CNBC. "We remain focused on working constructively with the government to use AI for national security so that all Americans can benefit from this technology."

Despite the lawsuits, the business has not been affected. Earlier this month, Anthropic reported revenue of $11.5 billion, 14 times that of the same period last year. The company is heading toward a potentially record IPO before the end of the year, and the specter of supply chain risks doesn't appear to be slowing it down so far.

Engadget has reached out to Anthropic for further inquiries and is yet to hear back.