Anthropic wins court order pausing Trump ban on AI tool

Rachel Metz, Bloomberg News on Mar 26, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Anthropic PBC won a court order blocking a Trump administration ban on government use of the company’s artificial intelligence technology, after the Claude chatbot maker argued the move could cost it billions in lost revenue.

US District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, pausing the administration’s plan to sever all ties with Anthropic while a legal fight plays out in San Francisco federal court. She questioned the government’s rationale for the ban, saying it didn’t appear to be directed at its stated national security interests.

“If the concern is the integrity of the operational chain of command, the Department of War could just stop using Claude,” the judge wrote. “Instead, these measures appear designed to punish Anthropic.” Such a move, she wrote, “is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.”

The company sued earlier this month to block a declaration by the Defense Department that Anthropic posed a threat to the U.S. supply chain, escalating a high-stakes dispute over safeguards on AI technology used by the military.

The startup demanded assurances that its AI wouldn’t be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous weapons deployment, while the government cited national security in arguing it couldn’t accept any restrictions.

Lin said the Justice Department had no “legitimate basis” to determine that Anthropic’s firm stance regarding restrictions on the usage of its AI technology could lead it to “become a saboteur.”

A spokesperson for Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Anthropic v. U.S. Department of War, 26-cv-01996, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

_____