Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen in New York on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen in New York on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 A federal judge weighing the merits of the Pentagon鈥檚 designation of rising Silicon Valley star Anthropic as a security threat repeatedly questioned the government鈥檚 reasons for vilifying the company following a dispute over how its artificial intelligence technology can be used in war
During a 90-minute hearing in San Francisco federal court, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin probed into why President Donald Trump's administration took the extraordinary step of denouncing Anthropic as a after balking at the company's attempt to prevent its AI technology from being deployed in or surveillance of Americans.
鈥淲hat is troubling to me about these these actions is they don鈥檛 seem to be tailored to the national security concerns,鈥 Lin said.
Lin is being asked to issue an emergency order to remove a stigma that Anthropic alleges was unjustifiably applied as part of an 鈥渦nlawful campaign of retaliation鈥 that provoked the San Francisco-based company earlier this month. Anthropic has also filed a separate and more narrow case in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C
Although Lin expressed abouts about how Trump administration has treated Anthropic, she didn't issue a ruling Tuesday. Instead, the judge asked for the lawyers in the two sides to file further evidence in the case by Wednesday and indicated she would rule before the end of this week.
The issues underlying the rift extend beyond a contractual dispute between one of technology's biggest AI laboratories and the Trump administration.
The feud has also mushroomed into a showdown over the boundaries surrounding a rapidly evolving technology that could turn into a massive jobs killer, a lethal military weapon and an invasive spy.
鈥淚t's a fascinating public policy debate, but it's not my role to decide who is right in that debate,鈥 Lin observed at the outset of Tuesday's hearing. The judge instead said she is focusing on whether the Trump administration acted improperly by applying a scarlet letter on Anthropic that traditionally has only been slapped on companies connected to foreign adversaries such as China or Russia.
Besides being deemed a security risk, Anthropic also contends it was tarnished on social media in a Feb. 27 statement from President Trump that blasted the company as part of the 鈥渞adical, woke left.鈥 The president also immediately ordered all federal employees to stop using Anthropic's technology, including its increasingly popular Claude chatbot.
Trump gave a longer period of six months for the Pentagon to phase out Anthropic鈥檚 technology, which is already embedded in classified military platforms including those used in the Iran war.
That Feb 27 post, along with another by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the same date, raised the specter of Anthropic losing key other deals, even though the administration has since backed away from a broad government ban in filings made in this case and other documents.
But Anthropic lawyer Michael Mongan argued during Tuesday's hearing that Anthropic's reputation already had been stained by the Trump's administration's actions, requiring a court order to prevent further damage threatening the company's future growth.
鈥淎nthropic has suffered irreparable and mounting injuries,鈥 Mongan told Lin.
While acknowledging that the Trump administration made some procedural mistakes along the way to declaring Anthropic as a security risk, Justice Department lawyer Eric Hamilton maintained the company 鈥渞evealed itself to be an untrustworthy and unreliable partner in recent negotiations.鈥
Hamilton also maintained that the administration should be given 鈥渟ubstantial deference鈥 in determining what qualifies as a security risk.
The Defense Department 鈥渨ill continue to direct its operations without tech company influence,鈥 Hamilton asserted.