Judge says Trump admin still lacks evidence for Anthropic ‘supply chain risk’ label

During a Thursday hearing, a judge said the Trump administration hasn’t presented enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk and banning the federal government from using the company’s technology. The dispute stems from stalled contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Anthropic said it didn’t want its AI used for mass surveillance or lethal targeting, arguing the technology wasn’t ready. The Pentagon countered that a private company shouldn’t dictate military use and said it would use the tools lawfully. The government argued that Anthropic’s public criticism of the DoD justifies the ban, a logic the judge called troubling, warning of retaliation precedent. The DOD also claimed Anthropic could alter models during operations, but experts and the judge saw no evidence. Thursday’s hearing is part of one of two lawsuits Anthropic filed in March; the judge is weighing whether to make a temporary ban permanent.