Trump administration illegally designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk, judge rules

The Trump administration's dramatic decision to mark Anthropic's AI models as a "supply chain risk" earlier this year was illegal, a federal judge has ruled. "The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," wrote Judge Rita Lin in a 59-page ruling. The judge determined the federal government unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic despite its engaging in "constitutionally protected expressive activities." Lin pointed to renewed conversations between Anthropic and the federal government, as well as the government's decision to back away from national security allegations, as corroboration that the designation was an attempt to make a public example of the company, the New York Times reported. "We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful. We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness A.I. for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," Anthropic said in a statement following the decision. Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out! Anthropic filed a series of