The U.S. government has issued a directive requiring Anthropic to restrict foreign access to its most advanced artificial intelligence models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick issued the order on Friday, shortly after the company made the models available to the public. The move represents a significant shift in federal policy, treating high-level AI systems as critical national security assets rather than standard commercial software.

There is some disagreement regarding the scope of the restriction. Axios reports that Anthropic has been placed on a Pentagon blacklist, effectively deeming the models too sensitive for government use while simultaneously being subject to Commerce Department licensing requirements for foreign use. In contrast, the Washington Examiner frames the event as Anthropic proactively blocking public access in response to the government mandate. Meanwhile, NDTV focuses specifically on the timeline, noting that public access to the Fable 5 model was disabled only three days after its initial release.

This action is being characterized by international observers, such as the South China Morning Post, as an unprecedented export-control measure. While the company has complied with the government's directive, the rapid sequence of events—from the release of the models to the immediate federal intervention—highlights the increasing tension between rapid AI innovation and federal security oversight.