US Judge Blocks Pentagon's Anthropic Blacklisting, Citing 'Orwellian' Measures

A US judge granted Anthropic's request for a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the Pentagon's order to label the AI firm as a 'supply chain risk.' This decision prevents the government from banning its products for federal use based on the firm's refusal to change its contract terms for mass surveillance.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction blocking the Pentagon's order designating the AI company as a supply chain risk, calling the government's actions 'Orwellian' in a 43-page ruling . The decision freezes the Trump administration's ability to ban Anthropic's products from federal use.

The conflict began when Anthropic refused to modify its contract terms to allow the Pentagon to use its Claude AI model for autonomous lethal warfare and mass surveillance of Americans, citing safety and ethical concerns. In retaliation, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's services in February, followed by the supply chain risk designation .

Judge Lin wrote that 'nothing in the governing statute supports the notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary for expressing disagreement with the government,' citing First Amendment protections. The ruling has significant implications for the AI industry, establishing a legal precedent around government retaliation against companies that set ethical boundaries on military AI applications. The government has seven days to appeal.