US Department of War and Anthropic logos are seen in this illustration created on March 1, 2026. DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
A US federal judge on Thursday, March 26, suspended sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration on Anthropic, saying the measures likely violated the law in blacklisting the AI powerhouse for expressing unease about the Pentagon's use of its technology.
In the northern district of California, Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic's request for a preliminary injunction in its suit against the government, freezing a presidential order that barred all federal agencies from using Anthropic technology.
The ruling also suspends a Pentagon designation of Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI model, as a national security supply chain risk – a label typically reserved for organizations from unfriendly foreign countries.
The designation not only blocks use of the company's technology by the Pentagon, but also requires all defense vendors and contractors to certify that they do not use Anthropic's models in their work with the department.
