Judge says Trump admin lacks evidence for Anthropic supply chain risk label
The ruling will influence whether the government can bar Anthropic from DoD use and set a precedent for how agencies pursue contractor risk designations.
At a glance
- Judge Rita Lin presiding; Thursday hearing part of two March lawsuits against the DoD
- DoD claimed Anthropic could disable or alter its AI models during warfighting; experts say evidence is lacking
- Lin temporarily blocked the ban in March; she is weighing whether to make that order permanent
- One lawsuit challenges the ban and risk designation in D.C.; the other is being heard in Washington
The story
At a Thursday hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin said the Trump administration had not produced enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk or banning federal government use of its technology, TechCrunch reported.
The dispute stems from stalled contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense, with Anthropic arguing its technology should not be used for mass surveillance or for targeting or firing decisions involving lethal weapons; the Pentagon countered that a private company should not dictate how the military uses technologies and said it would be used in lawful ways.
The government also argued that Anthropic’s public criticisms of the DoD could justify the ban, a claim Lin called "really troubling" and warned could set a dangerous precedent for punishing federal contractors who disagree with administration policy.
The DOD further claimed Anthropic could disable or alter its AI models during warfighting operations, a point experts say lacks evidence; Lin said she did not see proof that a delivered model could be altered or a kill switch flipped.
Thursday’s hearing was part of one of two lawsuits Anthropic filed against the DoD in March, challenging the ban and risk designation; the other suit is being heard in Washington, and Lin temporarily blocked the ban in March while weighing whether to make that order permanent.