Judge says U.S. still lacks evidence for Anthropic risk label

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said the government has not shown sufficient evidence to support its “supply-chain risk” designation against Anthropic, a label that would ban federal agencies from using the AI company’s technology. Bloomberg and Axios first reported the hearing.

The dispute traces back to stalled contract talks between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Anthropic said it did not want its AI used for mass surveillance of Americans or for targeting or firing decisions involving lethal weapons, arguing the technology was not ready for that use. The Pentagon countered that a private company should not dictate how the military uses the technologies it buys, saying it would use the tools in “lawful” ways.

The government has also argued that Anthropic’s public criticism of the DOD justifies the ban. Lin called that logic “really troubling,” warning it could set a precedent of retaliating against federal contractors who publicly disagree with the administration.

The DOD further claimed Anthropic could potentially disable or alter its AI models during warfighting operations, a claim experts say lacks evidence. Lin agreed, saying she saw no proof Anthropic could alter a delivered model or “flip some kind of kill switch.”

Thursday’s hearing was part of one of two lawsuits Anthropic filed against the DOD in March, challenging both the ban and the risk designation; the other suit is being heard in Washington. Lin, who temporarily blocked the ban in March, is now weighing whether to make that order permanent.

Why it matters

A ruling against the risk label would curb the government’s ability to bar AI vendors from federal contracts over public policy disagreements, a precedent that could shape how far agencies can go in penalizing tech suppliers that push back on proposed use cases.