Trump administration illegally retaliated against Anthropic, judge rules

A judge has ruled the US Department of Defense acted unlawfully when it designated artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic a supply chain risk, calling the move "illegal and baseless".

The company argued in the lawsuit that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority with the new designation. It followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use its AI models for things that included surveillance or autonomous weapons.

US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics".

Anthropic welcomed the ruling. The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.

Anthropic is focused on "working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," a spokesperson told the BBC.

Judge Lin said in the court filing that the Defense Department had acted unlawfully to order firms that do business with the US military to boycott Anthropic.

The Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk in February - a law typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the US.

It marked the first time an American company had been publicly designated as such.