WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to block the Pentagon from blacklisting the artificial intelligence laboratory Anthropic in a decision that differed from another judge’s ruling on the same issues.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., rejected Anthropic’s request for an order that would protect the San Francisco company from the fallout of a dispute over how the Pentagon could use its Claude chatbot in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans while evidence collection is ongoing.
However, Anthropic had previously won a separate case on the same issues in San Francisco federal court – where a judge had ordered the removal of a national security risk label against the company.
Anthropic had filed lawsuits in San Francisco and Washington, alleging that the Trump administration was retaliating unlawfully due to its restricting deployment of AI technology. The administration accused Anthropic of trying to influence military policy.
In the San Francisco case, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Trump administration had gone too far in labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk, preventing the company from working with military contractors. This decision led to the removal of stigmatizing labels and allowed government employees and contractors to continue using Anthropic’s chatbots.
The appeals court in Washington, however, did not agree with this assessment, acknowledging that Anthropic might suffer harm if considered a supply chain risk, but not finding enough reason to revoke the Trump administration’s actions.
More evidence will be presented in a hearing scheduled for May 19, as the court continues to deliberate on the case. Anthropic expressed confidence that the supply chain designations were unlawful and needed to be resolved quickly.
Matt Schruers, CEO of the technology trade group Computer & Communications Industry Association, voiced concerns about the business uncertainty caused by the conflicting court decisions between Anthropic and the Trump administration.
[Context: The article reports on a federal appeals court’s decision not to block the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, an AI laboratory, despite a previous ruling in favor of Anthropic in a separate case.]
[Fact Check: The article does not support any claim made by the Trump administration against Anthropic. It presents the legal battles and court rulings involving Anthropic and the government.]
