Trump administration defends Anthropic blacklisting in US court

The US defence secretary designated the AI company a ‘supply chain risk’ after it refused to remove guardrails on its technology.The administration of United States President Donald Trump has said in a court filing that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was justified and lawful, opposing the artificial intelligence company’s high-stakes lawsuit challenging the decision.The administration made its comments in a court filing on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why aren’t gold prices rising, despite Iran war uncertainty?list 2 of 3Xi Jinping’s anticorruption drive sweeps up senior Chinese military chiefslist 3 of 3Iran allowing more ships through Strait of Hormuz, data suggestend of listDefense 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 and domestic surveillance.The Trump administration’s filing says Anthropic is unlikely to succeed in its claims that the US government’s action violated speech protections under the US Constitution’s First Amendment, asserting that 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 US Justice Department, said that “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.