A federal judge has ruled that the Pentagon can’t blacklist or refuse to do business with companies that employ the same lobbyists as Alibaba, a firm the U.S. designated an arm of the Chinese military.
Judge Eumi Lee, a Biden appointee to the court in California, ruled Monday that the 2024 law granting the Pentagon blacklist powers is likely an unconstitutional infringement on Alibaba’s First Amendment rights.
She issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Defense Department from applying the law to Alibaba while she continues to hear more arguments on the matter.
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Judge Lee rejected the Trump administration’s claims of national security, saying the Defense Department failed to provide any specific evidence of how allowing Alibaba access to the lobbyists of its choice would threaten American interests.
She said vague assertions can’t overcome the loss of First Amendment rights for the company.
“Because of Section 4663, Alibaba has lost opportunities to make its views known on laws and regulations that may impact it,” Judge Lee wrote.
The 2021 law bars the Defense Department from doing business with firms that employ the same lobbyists as Chinese military companies.
The Defense Department earlier this year slammed that designation on Alibaba, which operates as a Chinese version of the U.S. firm Amazon, providing an e-commerce platform and computing and media services.
Alibaba challenged both the designation and the penalty.
Judge Lee did not reach the issue of whether the Pentagon properly decided Alibaba was a Chinese military company.
Before its designation, Alibaba employed more than two dozen lobbyists to swarm Congress and the administration pursuing the firm’s interests.
The company said some of its lobbyists quit after the designation, costing Alibaba critical political capital in Washington.
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