US District Judge Rita Lin ruled that former President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lacked authority to blacklist Anthropic. Lin described the action as 'First Amendment retaliation' aimed at punishing Anthropic for public criticism of the government’s AI plans.
The court order halted directives to ban Anthropic, citing insufficient evidence of national security risks. Lin noted that the decision was meant to prevent retaliation against companies expressing concerns about AI safety.
Anthropic's stance remains focused on productive collaboration with the government to ensure safe AI deployment. However, the company continues to face challenges, including canceled trade deals and delayed partnerships.
Under Secretary of War Emil Michael dismissed the ruling as a 'disgrace,' emphasizing that the supply-chain risk designation remains in effect for a week. Despite claims of national security risks, no concrete evidence was provided to support the blacklist.
The ruling underscores concerns about the chilling effect on open deliberation among AI experts and raises questions about the appropriate balance between national security and free speech.