A federal judge in F California has temporarily blocked retaliatory measures by the Pentagon targeting the startup Anthropic. The court ruled that these sanctions likely violate the company’s freedom of speech, as it was punished for refusing certain military uses of its AI.
On Thursday, March 26, 2026, the U.S. justice system ruled in favor of Anthropic. A federal judge suspended the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration for a period of seven days. This decision follows an ideological and technical standoff: Anthropic had publicly refused to allow its artificial intelligence model, Claude, to be used for mass surveillance or to pilot autonomous weapons.
According to the judge, the sanctions appear to have been designed as « unconstitutional retaliation » in response to the Silicon Valley standout’s expressed reservations regarding the Pentagon’s use of its technology.
The conflict took a highly political turn starting in late February: Donald Trump labeled Anthropic a « radical left woke company » on Truth Social.
Immediately following: Pete Hegseth denounced the San Francisco company’s « sanctimonious rhetoric » and « ideology » on X.Last Tuesday: During the hearing in San Francisco, the judge noted that internal Pentagon documents classified Anthropic as a « risk » due to its « hostile attitude in the press. »
The judge further specified that the procedure used to designate Anthropic as a risk—normally reserved for countering foreign sabotage was likely diverted from its legal framework.
« While this legal action was necessary to protect the company, our priority remains working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe and reliable AI, » reaffirmed an Anthropic spokesperson.
Anthropic is not alone in this fight. Its appeal has received significant backing from:Former high-ranking officials (including an ex-CIA director).Industry giants such as Microsoft.
Employees from OpenAI and Google who filed briefs in a private capacity.While this seven-day suspension offers Anthropic a brief reprieve, another appeal is currently underway in a federal court in Washington to challenge the merits of the case.
Secondine GOZINGAN
Leave a comment