The U.S. Commerce Department late on June 30 lifted export restrictions on Anthropic's artificial intelligence models Fable 5 and Mythos 5, ending a two-week ban that had blocked foreign users from accessing the technology, the company and independent media reported.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote to Anthropic that the ban was lifted after the company agreed to "actively identify and address security risks associated with AI models" and to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. government. Anthropic said it would begin restoring access on July 1.
On June 12, U.S. authorities ordered Anthropic to block foreign users from Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing unspecified national security concerns. The restriction also applied to non-U.S. citizen employees of the company. Because Anthropic said it cannot distinguish users by nationality, it disabled both models for all customers.
Last week, authorities allowed Anthropic to grant access to Mythos 5 to some "trusted" U.S. organizations. The fate of Fable 5 remained uncertain until the full lifting of restrictions was announced.
Mythos 5 is Anthropic's most advanced model. Experts say it can identify and exploit gaps in cybersecurity systems at unprecedented speed. Fable 5 is a lighter version.
The White House intervention was unprecedented, as the U.S. administration has generally pushed for looser AI controls, Deutsche Welle noted. The move also drew criticism from Western allies.
Anthropic is in a legal dispute with the Pentagon. The company has refused to grant the U.S. Defense Department unrestricted use of its technology, saying it does not want AI used for "mass domestic surveillance" or in fully autonomous weapons systems. The Pentagon subsequently classified Anthropic as a "supply chain security risk," which the company is challenging in court.