Overview
- Justice Department lawyers filed a notice of appeal on Thursday, sending the case to the Ninth Circuit and setting an April 30 deadline for the government’s brief.
- Judge Rita Lin’s injunction remains in force and blocks the Pentagon from designating Anthropic a supply‑chain risk and stops enforcement of the president’s order telling agencies to quit using the company’s Claude chatbot.
- Lin criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for using a rarely applied authority previously aimed at foreign adversaries, calling the government’s steps arbitrary and warning they could cripple the company.
- The fight grew out of a collapsed $200 million defense deal after Anthropic refused uses it says break its safety rules, including fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance.
- Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael called the ruling a disgrace, and Anthropic is also pressing a narrower, separate appeal in Washington, D.C., as industry supporters like Microsoft file briefs warning of wider disruption.