The Pentagon blacklisting of Anthropic

Judge Rita Lin of the US District Court for the Northern District of California vacated government directives barring use of Anthropic's AI technology, ruling the Pentagon's designation of the company as a national security supply-chain risk was unlawful First Amendment retaliation. The ruling granted key portions of Anthropic's motion for summary judgment, finding the designation was tied to Anthropic's refusal to lift product restrictions prohibiting use of Claude for lethal autonomous weapons systems and mass surveillance of Americans, as well as the company's public criticism of the Pentagon. The court found violations of the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment due process, and the governing statutory scheme. A preliminary injunction had halted enforcement of the designation in March 2026 while the case proceeded.