A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration on Thursday after declaring its treatment of the artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic to be unlawful, The New York Times reported.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration was working with Anthropic to integrate its AI model into the U.S. military’s classified systems, though the arrangement soon hit a snag after the company insisted that its technology not be “used to spy on Americans en masse, or to develop weapons that fire with no human involvement.”
The Trump administration ultimately cut ties with the company in March over its objections, and furthermore, designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk, a designation that prohibited the Pentagon from doing business with any contractor that does business with Anthropic.
The decision to brand Anthropic with such a designation, however, was unlawful, federal Judge Rita Lin ruled Thursday.
“The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Lin wrote, per the Times. “[The decision came down to] a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its ‘arrogance’ in criticizing the government.”
While the Trump administration did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment, Anthropic championed the ruling, and in a statement said they “remained focused on working productively with the government,” per the Times.
Lin had previously described the Pentagon’s attacks on Anthropic amid the feud “troubling,” and argued the Trump administration’s retaliation against the company appeared to be no more than an “attempt to cripple Anthropic."
Anthropic sued the Trump administration back in March over what it called its “unlawful campaign of retaliation,” in which the company accused the Pentagon of violating its First Amendment rights.