Judge Blocks Pentagon’s Blacklisting of Anthropic
A US judge on Thursday issued a ruling that prevents the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, marking a significant development in the company’s ongoing dispute with the military regarding the safety of artificial intelligence in combat scenarios. Anthropic’s lawsuit in California federal court contends that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth exceeded his authority by designating Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk. This classification can be applied by the government to companies that pose a threat of infiltration or sabotage to military systems by adversaries. Hegseth’s unprecedented action, which obstructed Anthropic from specific military contracts, came after Anthropic declined to permit the military to utilise its Claude AI models for US surveillance or autonomous weaponry. Executives at Anthropic have indicated that the company could face billions of dollars in lost business and reputational damage.
US District Judge Rita Lin, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, made the ruling in a 59-page order where she found that the Pentagon’s decision was “illegal and baseless.” And “The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” she wrote. Anthropic welcomed the ruling and said in a statement that it remained “focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.” The Pentagon did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment. Anthropic contends that AI models lack the reliability necessary for safe deployment in autonomous weapons and expresses opposition to domestic surveillance, viewing it as a breach of rights. In contrast, the Pentagon asserts that private companies should not have the authority to limit military operations.
The designation made by the Pentagon represents the inaugural instance in which a US company has been publicly identified as a supply-chain risk under a little-known government-procurement statute designed to safeguard military systems from foreign sabotage. In its lawsuit filed on March 9, Anthropic contended that the government infringed upon its First Amendment rights by retaliating against its perspectives on AI safety. The company asserted that it was not afforded an opportunity to contest the designation, which it claims violates its Fifth Amendment right to due process. The lawsuit contends that the decision was unlawful, lacking factual support and inconsistent with the military’s previous commendations of Claude.
The Justice Department argued that Anthropic’s unwillingness to remove the restrictions might create uncertainty within the Pentagon regarding the utilisation of Claude, potentially jeopardising the functionality of military systems during operations, as stated in a court filing. The government indicated that the designation arose from Anthropic’s unwillingness to accept contractual terms, rather than its perspectives on AI safety. Anthropic is currently facing a second lawsuit in Washington, D.C., concerning a distinct Pentagon supply-chain risk designation that may result in its disqualification from civilian government contracts.
