US Orders Anthropic to Block Advanced AI Models for Foreign Nationals

The U.S. government ordered Anthropic to block foreign nationals from accessing its most advanced artificial intelligence models ^[1].

This directive marks a significant escalation in the effort to maintain technological dominance and prevent sensitive AI capabilities from being utilized by foreign adversaries. By restricting access to high-tier models, the administration aims to mitigate risks associated with national security and AI safety [1, 3].

Anthropic disabled access to its Fable-5 and Mythos-5 models to comply with the government directive ^[2]. The action followed reports that the order was issued between June 12 and June 13, 2026 [2, 4]. While some reports indicate the shutdown applied to all users, other accounts specify that the restriction targeted only foreign nationals [2, 4].

The models in question are part of a suite of AI technologies valued at $900 billion ^[5]. The move comes amid a broader strategy to protect the United States' lead in the global AI race, a competition where the ability to develop and control advanced reasoning models is seen as a critical strategic asset [1, 3].

Some reports identify the Trump administration as the entity that issued the order to block all foreign nationals ^[5]. Other reports more broadly attribute the directive to the U.S. government ^[4].

Anthropic has not provided a public timeline for when, or if, these specific models will be restored for international users. The company's compliance follows a pattern of increasing government oversight into the deployment of large-scale AI models that could potentially be misused for cyberattacks or biological weapon development [1, 3].