Anthropic faces export restrictions due to White House concerns over potential access to its AI models by a China-linked group.
Anthropic is now under export restrictions due to worries from the White House about possible access to its Mythos model by a group linked to China. Reports suggest that these restrictions were influenced by a warning about circumventing protections on the Fable 5 model.
Media sources indicate that the Trump administration was particularly concerned about the potential for a China-affiliated group to access Mythos, although specifics regarding the organization or how access was achieved remain unclear. Anthropic has denied that discussions with U.S. authorities included topics about Chinese access to its products, asserting that it prohibits such access.
Background of the Restrictions
On June 11, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy alerted the presidential administration about the possibility of bypassing Fable 5's safeguards, which was a response to a request for verification of the model. Following this, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Latnik informed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that both Fable 5 and Mythos 5 would be subject to export controls.
Despite attempts by officials to persuade Anthropic to voluntarily suspend access to these models, the company resisted. A source close to Anthropic claimed that the White House only provided a brief timeframe to disable the models without explaining the nature of the threat.
White House advisor David Sacks referenced a warning received from a trusted partner about potential vulnerabilities in Fable 5. He expressed hope that Anthropic would address the security concerns, leading to the lifting of export controls.
"The administration hopes that Anthropic will resolve the security issue, the export control will be lifted, and Fable will return to general access. [...] The ball is in Anthropic's court," Sacks stated on X.
Anthropic's Response
Anthropic maintains that the government’s communication did not detail specific national security risks, focusing instead on the bypassing method for Fable 5 protections. The company has reviewed the method and believes it only revealed a few minor vulnerabilities, which could also be identified by other models without breaching protections.
Before launching Fable 5, Anthropic claims it dedicated extensive resources to testing its protections in collaboration with the U.S. government and various organizations, asserting that no universal bypass methods have been found.
"We consider this a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible," the company stated.
Anthropic introduced Fable 5 and Mythos 5 on June 9, with Fable 5 designed for general access and Mythos 5 aimed at cybersecurity professionals as part of the Project Glasswing initiative. Following the U.S. export directive, tokens from decentralized AI projects Venice and Morpheus saw significant price increases of 14% and 21%, respectively, highlighting market reactions to the news.
