Court rules Trump can blacklist Anthropic for refusing to enable Claude features

A US appeals court today approved the Trump administration's blacklisting of Anthropic technology. Judges decided the US had authority to blacklist Anthropic for withholding certain AI features even if Anthropic had no malicious intent. In a 2-1 ruling issued by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a panel of judges said the "case raises profoundly difficult questions about the appropriate military uses of an almost unimaginably powerful new technology." The US "raises the deeply sobering prospect of overly constrained AI models shutting down unexpectedly and thus causing important military operations to fail. Anthropic raises the deeply sobering prospect of unconstrained AI models hallucinating inappropriate targets for lethal military force," the ruling said. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "must determine how best to balance the competing risks," the court said. "In doing so here, the Secretary did not transgress any limits on his authority under the Supply Chain Security Act or the Constitution. Accordingly, we deny the petitions for review." The same court previously denied Anthropic's emergency motion for a stay in April. Read full article Comments

Court ruling allows US to constrain AI development

The court ruling enables government blacklisting of AI firms refusing to enable certain features, raising risks of military misuse and political control. This may constrain AI deployment and escalate risks of AI in lethal military operations. However, no direct evidence of harm or benefits is presented.

A federal appeals court upheld government power to blacklist an AI company for refusing to enable features linked to lethal targeting decisions, over the company's own safety objections. This weakens corporate ability to resist unsafe military deployment demands and sets a legal precedent favoring state coercion over AI safety judgment.

A US appeals court has affirmed the government's right to blacklist an AI developer for refusing to implement specific AI features, citing military applications. The ruling highlights potential failures in critical military operations due to constrained AI or inappropriate targeting by unconstrained AI, indicating significant risks from government control over AI capabilities in defense.

The ruling establishes government control over AI features in military use. This raises concerns about overreach and potential misuse of AI in warfare. The balance of risks highlights the tension between safety and capability.

SOURCE     Ars Technica: AI (tier 1)
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DOCUMENT   3cdbf61f-8903-4eda-9b9e-6b6479f84955
           https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/court-rules-trump-can-blacklist-anthropic-for-refusing-to-enable-claude-features
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EVIDENCE   2 extracted excerpts
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MODEL RUN  5 runs, methodology 1.0.1
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SCORE      -66  (Strongly adverse)
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CONFIDENCE 83%