The Government Must Not Force Companies to Participate in AI-Powered Surveillance

The Northern District of California granted Anthropic's motion for a preliminary injunction on March 24, 2026. The court found that the government's actions were not designed to protect national security but rather to punish the company. It described the move as classic illegal First Amendment retaliation for bringing public scrutiny to the government's contracting position. The dispute began when Anthropic refused to let the government use its technology to spy on Americans. The Department of Defense responded The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and other public interest organizations filed a brief in support of the motion. They stated that the development and operation of large language models involve multiple expressive choices protected The public record shows the supply chain risk designation was intended to punish the company for pushing back and for statements