Anthropic won an early court victory after a federal judge in San Francisco granted AI’s request for a preliminary injunction, temporarily preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the ban on the company and preventing government agencies from using its Claude models.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin found that Anthropic had shown that it could do well in its capital cases, writing that the government’s actions appeared to be more punitive than protective. Reuters report that Lin said punishing Anthropic for drawing public attention to the government’s actions in contracting seemed like an unlawful First Amendment retaliation.
The order prevents the administration, for now, from using or enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order against Anthropic and furthers the Pentagon’s efforts to treat the company as a national security threat. Reuters reported that the decision has been delayed for seven days for the government to file an appeal.
The conflict began after Anthropic refused to remove the security restrictions on Claude in the Pentagon negotiations completely. The company said it does not condone the use of autonomous devices without public oversight or oversight by the majority of Americans, even if they are open to most government services.
Trump then moved in late February to order federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeling the company a threat, a designation that would force defense contractors to avoid Claude in military service. Anthropic said it was the first time such a trademark had been used publicly against an American company in this way.
Its achievements are extensive as Anthropic has become an important AI supplier to the US government. The company had a contract of $ 200 million for the Pentagon and had already delivered all kinds of protection to the Department of Defense before the relationship ended due to use.
The Trump administration relied on special powers on the Pentagon’s blacklist and numerous federal restrictions, forcing Anthropic to challenge them in various courts. Another case against the federal government is still moving forward in Washington.
