A federal judge ruled late Thursday the Pentagon having labeled AI company Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’ was against the law.

Judge Rita Lin, for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, said in her ruling the military should have wide latitude to decide which companies to work with, but its actions against Anthropic “constituted unlawful retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.” 

The dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic started earlier this year when the tech firm refused to remove internal guardrails to prevent the military from using its Claude AI model in weapons and surveillance, arguing its models were not reliable enough to be used for such purposes, according to CNN. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in response, said the government could not allow the U.S. military to be constrained as such and in February labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk.

Lin also said Anthropic was "denied the pre-deprivation process required under the Fifth Amendment,” also according to CNN.