Yesterday, a federal judge in San Francisco expedited a hearing on AI developer Anthropic's motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of War and other federal agencies.
Anthropic's lawsuit arises from its February 27 designation as a "supply chain risk" and accompanying directive from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that "no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic."
Anthropic argues that Hegseth acted in retaliation for the company’s public position on AI safety, violating their first amendment rights.
The company also argues that the government's directive violated the requirements of the relevant federal statutes, as well as the constitutional prohibition against depriving a person of property without due process of law.
The AI company asked the court to enter a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo while the case is litigated.
Anthropic estimates potential losses in the billions of dollars.
