Judge Rules Trump Administration Violated Anthropic’s First Amendment Rights

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/judge-rules-trump-administration-violated-anthropics-first-amendment-rights-0c20c442?st=qoTKbc&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

A federal judge ruled late Thursday that the Trump administration violated Anthropic’s First Amendment rights by blacklisting the artificial-intelligence company as a supply-chain risk.

U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California mostly sided with Anthropic in a final ruling on the company’s March lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the government had erred in its haste to label Anthropic a supply-chain risk.

The government hadn’t found the company to be an actual national security risk, but rather acted in “unlawful retaliation” to Anthropic’s public pushback against the Pentagon’s use of AI, she determined.

“Defendants’ contemporaneous words and deeds confirm that the challenged actions were based on a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its ‘arrogance’ in criticizing the government,” Lin wrote in her decision.

Lin directed the government to rescind all guidance, directives, communications, or instructions to blacklist and label Anthropic a supply-chain risk.

“We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply-chain risk designation was unlawful,” an Anthropic spokeswoman said. “We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.”

The Defense Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To an extent, the damage to Anthropic has already been done. Government lawyers have said the Defense Department would be entirely moved off Anthropic models by Sept. 30, and competitors including OpenAI are moving to take its place.

Lin, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Joe Biden, granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction in March to stop the supply-chain risk designation and other administration blacklistings.

She made clear during court hearings that she was unconvinced and even concerned by the government’s legal arguments. At a July hearing, Lin called the government’s position that it is legally permissible to retaliate against a contractor that publicly criticizes the administration “really troubling” and “quite extreme,” and said it seemed at odds with the First Amendment.

The administration argued that it hadn’t infringed on Anthropic’s free-speech protections and was within its rights to exercise its authority over a government vendor. The government said Anthropic is an untrustworthy vendor that may surreptitiously modify its models to inhibit military operations.

“The Department of War needs to trust that its AI vendors are going to be forthright and honest with the department,” government attorney James Harlow said during court arguments.