SIIA Welcomes California Federal Court Ruling in Anthropic v. Department of War

The following statement can be attributed to Paul Lekas, Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy and Government Affairs, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

SIIA welcomes the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California ruling that the actions taken by the Department of War to blacklist Anthropic "were illegal and baseless." While it is a given that the Department should be free to select its vendors of choice, it must do so consistent with governing law. That did not happen here. The court rightfully held that designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk on the thin evidentiary record constituted unlawful retaliation in violation of the First Amendment, violated Fifth Amendment due process, and violated the overarching statutory scheme for government contracting. As the court said, "The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics."

We appreciate the court's consideration of the views expressed by SIIA and other trade associations, as amici, about the uncertainty and ripple effects for the government contracting industry created by the Department's action.