Trump administration defends Anthropic blacklisting in US court

The Trump administration said in a Tuesday court filing that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was justified and lawful, opposing the artificial intelligence lab’s high-stakes lawsuit challenging the decision.



Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic, the maker of popular AI assistant Claude, a national security supply chain risk on March 3 after the company refused to remove guardrails against its technology being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.



The Trump administration's filing says Anthropic is unlikely to succeed on its claims that the U.S. action violated speech protections under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, asserting the dispute stems from contract negotiations and national security concerns, not retaliation.



"It was only when Anthropic refused to release the restrictions on the use of its products — which refusal is conduct, not protected speech — that the President directed all federal agencies to terminate their business relationships with Anthropic," the administration's legal filing said.



The filing, from the U.S. Justice Department, said "no one has purported to restrict Anthropic’s expressive activity." Anthropic's lawsuit in California federal court asks a judge to block the Pentagon's decision while the case plays out. Some legal experts say the company appears to have a strong case that the government overreached.