A federal judge has sided with Anthropic in its twisted legal battle with the Trump administration, granting the tech company an injunction against a recent government order that labeled it a “supply chain risk,” the Wall Street Journal reports. exhibitions.
On Thursday, Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California ordered the Trump administration to rescind its recent designation of Anthropic as a security risk, as well as withdraw its order that federal agencies cut ties with the company.
“Looks like an attempt to mutilate Anthropic,” Lin he is reported to have said during the court proceedings. Lin eventually argued that the government’s orders had violated free speech protections for the company.
The drama between the Pentagon and Anthropic erupted last month over a dispute over guidelines for the government’s use of the company’s AI software. Anthropic was mentioned tried to impose some limits on how the government could use its AI models, such as banning them from being used in autonomous weapons systems or mass surveillance. The government took issue with these restrictions, eventually labeling the company a supply chain risk — a designation usually reserved for foreign actors. President Trump further ordered federal agencies to sever ties with the company.
Shortly thereafter, Anthropic sued the agency, along with Hegseth.
The White House has spent the past few weeks attacking the company, characterizing as “a radical left-wing, vigilante corporation” endangering America’s “national security.” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, meanwhile, called the Defense Department’s actions “retaliatory and punitive.”
Following Judge Lin’s decision, Anthropic sent TechCrunch the following statement: “We are grateful to the court for moving quickly and are pleased that they agree that Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits. While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers and our partners, our focus remains on the productive benefit of Americans with the government.”
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TechCrunch has reached out to the White House separately for comment.
