Trump Admin Appeals Ruling Blocking Anthropic Penalties

The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's ruling that temporarily blocked punitive actions against artificial intelligence company Anthropic, escalating a legal dispute over the Pentagon's use of the firm's technology. Department of Justice attorneys filed the notice on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, seeking review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The appeal challenges a March 26 order by U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, who halted the Defense Department's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk and blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump's directive requiring federal agencies to cease using the company's AI chatbot, Claude.

The conflict traces back to failed negotiations for a $200 million defense contract announced publicly on February 27. Anthropic sought contractual limits to prevent its models from being used in fully autonomous weapons or for mass surveillance of Americans, citing ethical concerns. The Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, insisted on unrestricted access for any lawful applications, leading to the contract's cancellation. In response, the administration designated Anthropic a supply chain...