The US Department of Commerce on June 12, 2026 issued an export control directive ordering Anthropic to suspend access to its latest AI models, "Claude Fable 5" and "Claude Mythos 5," for all foreign nationals both inside and outside the country. To comply, Anthropic immediately disabled access to both models for all users.
June 12, 2026 · US Commerce Department
US Orders Anthropic to Block Foreign Access to Its Newest AI Models — So It Shut Them Off for Everyone
An export-control directive bars all foreign nationals — at home and abroad, including Anthropic's own staff — from using Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5. Unable to filter by citizenship alone, Anthropic disabled both models globally. It calls the order a "misunderstanding."
3 days
From release (~Jun 9) to shutoff directive (Jun 12)
2
Models taken offline: Fable 5 & Mythos 5
1st
Case of a commercial model restricted citing jailbreak risk
Who Can Use the Models — Before vs. After
Before
All users, worldwide
After
Effectively no one — shut off globally
The order targets foreign nationals only, but separating them out is impractical — so access was disabled for everyone. Other models such as Claude Opus 4.8 are unaffected.
The Stated Concern
A "narrow, non-universal jailbreak" — a method to read a specific codebase and fix software flaws — is cited as the basis for the restriction.
Anthropic's rebuttal
Reproducible on other public models like GPT-5.5; a capability defenders use routinely; no universal jailbreak confirmed.
The fallout
Anthropic disputes the order, warning it could effectively halt new model rollouts across the industry.
Critics say
Dozens of cybersecurity experts wrote the Commerce Secretary: the move "takes the best tools away from defenders, creates market uncertainty, and jeopardizes US AI leadership."
Knock-on effect
A relative tailwind for Chinese open-source AI — raising the profile of camps such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI and China's drive for self-reliance.
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