Judge Rules Pentagon's Anthropic Security Label Illegal

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was illegal, calling it unlawful retaliation violating the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin also found the decision arbitrary, capricious, and a violation of Anthropic's Fifth Amendment due process rights. The dispute began after Anthropic refused to remove safety guardrails preventing the Pentagon from using its AI models for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. Lin noted contradictions in the government's stance, including the DOD continuing to pursue contracts with Anthropic while simultaneously labeling it a national security threat.