US orders Anthropic to block foreign access to new AI models amid security concerns

The US government has ordered Anthropic to suspend foreign access to its newest AI models, in a move that highlights the growing use of export controls in advanced technology. The directive affects the company's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models and applies to foreign nationals both inside and outside the United States. Anthropic said the order was issued on national security grounds and came shortly after the models were released.

Sponsored

According to the company, the instruction covers foreign national employees as well as other foreign users. The order was described as an export-control directive, but the government has not publicly set out the full evidence behind it. Anthropic said it had received only verbal evidence of a potential security issue, while the broader dispute has drawn attention to how governments are trying to manage access to frontier AI systems.

The move comes against the backdrop of an existing conflict between Anthropic and the Trump administration. The company is suing the administration after being placed on a supply chain blacklist over its refusal to allow the US military to use its AI models for domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons systems. That legal fight has already made Anthropic a prominent test case in the debate over how far governments can go in directing the use of powerful AI tools.

The latest order matters because it shows that AI models are increasingly being treated as strategic technology rather than ordinary software. Export controls have long been used by the US to limit access to sensitive goods and systems, and the same logic is now being applied to advanced AI. The decision also reflects wider concerns in Washington about whether foreign actors could exploit frontier models for cyber, intelligence or military purposes.

Sponsored

The timing is notable because Anthropic had only recently rolled out Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company, which is based in San Francisco and is behind the Claude chatbot, has become one of the most closely watched AI firms in the US. Its models are part of a fast-moving competition among American and Chinese AI developers, with policymakers increasingly focused on whether technical advances can be kept under tighter national-security oversight.

The row also sits within a broader US-China technology rivalry. The supporting material points to concerns that a China-linked group may have accessed the new model, although the details have not been publicly confirmed. It also comes as Chinese AI firms continue to narrow the gap in model development, adding pressure on US officials to balance openness, commercial competition and security restrictions.

What remains unclear is the exact scope of the government's evidence, how long the restriction will last, and whether Anthropic will challenge the directive. It is also not yet clear whether the order will affect customers, researchers or only specific categories of foreign nationals. The next developments to watch are any formal government explanation, any court action from Anthropic, and whether other AI companies face similar restrictions.

#Anthropic #exportcontrols #artificialintelligence #nationalsecurity #UnitedStates

Sponsored