Federal judge questions evidence behind Anthropic supply-chain risk label

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin expressed skepticism during a Thursday hearing over the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk. The judge noted the government had not shown sufficient proof to support the label, which led to a ban on federal use of Anthropic's AI.

The dispute originates from stalled contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Anthropic had refused to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for decisions involving lethal weapons, arguing the technology was not ready for such applications.

The Pentagon countered that a private company should not dictate military use of technology and stated it would employ the tools lawfully. The government also cited Anthropic's public criticism of the DOD as justification for the ban, a rationale Judge Lin called 'really troubling,' warning it could set a precedent of retaliating against contractors who disagree with the administration.

The DOD further claimed Anthropic could potentially disable or alter its AI models during military operations, but Judge Lin said she saw no evidence Anthropic could 'flip some kind of kill switch.' Experts have also noted a lack of support for this claim.

The hearing is part of two lawsuits Anthropic filed against the DOD in March, challenging the ban and the supply-chain risk designation.