Judge rules Trump administration illegally punished AI firm Anthropic for protected speech

A federal judge has permanently halted the Trump administration's efforts to penalize the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, ruling that the administration's actions violated the company's First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin determined that the administration had unconstitutionally punished Anthropic for engaging in protected speech.

The ruling is a significant win for Anthropic in its protracted legal battle against the administration concerning the use of its powerful AI model, Claude. The military utilizes Claude, and Anthropic sought to prevent its application in areas like mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. However, the military argued for the freedom to employ the model for all lawful purposes.

When the two parties failed to reach an agreement, President Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using Claude earlier this year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the firm as a supply chain risk, aiming to prevent private defense contractors from utilizing Anthropic's technology for military work. The administration had contended these measures were essential for safeguarding national security.

Judge Lin's ruling stated that the administration's actions were unlawful retaliation against Anthropic for constitutionally protected expressive activities. She also found that the measures infringed upon the company's due process rights. While acknowledging the government's deference on national security matters, Lin noted that the administration's own statements and actions indicated a desire to make an example of Anthropic for criticizing the government, rather than a substantiated belief that the company would sabotage its model.

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The government is certainly owed deference on weighty issues of national security. But Defendants' contemporaneous words and deeds confirm that the challenged actions were based on a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its 'arrogance' in criticizing the government, not based on any articulable basis to believe that Anthropic would actually sabotage its model.