Federal Judge Says Pentagon's Anthropic Ban 'Looks Like Punishment' — Ruling Expected in Days

CNBC·high signal

U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin told the government at a preliminary injunction hearing that blacklisting Anthropic as a supply chain risk appeared to be retaliation for the company's public refusal to allow Claude for autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, not a legitimate national security measure. She noted the government could simply stop using Claude instead of banning Anthropic across all agencies. A ruling on whether to pause the ban pending trial is expected within days — a potential precedent for AI companies setting ethical red lines against government clients.