Leading artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has withdrawn its newest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, from public access.
The move, announced on Friday, follows a directive from the Trump administration aimed at preventing the AI models from being used by foreign nationals.
The export controls represent the most substantial measure taken by the US government thus far to curb access to highly advanced AI systems.
Fable, which Anthropic had widely released this week, is a restricted iteration of the more sophisticated Mythos model, access to which the company had already severely limited over cybersecurity concerns.
In a statement, Anthropic expressed its disagreement with the government’s approach, noting it received the directive on Friday afternoon without specific national security concerns being outlined.
The company stated: "We believe the government should have the ability to block unsafe deployments, as part of a statutory process that is transparent, fair, clear, and grounded in technical facts. This action does not adhere to those principles."
Anthropic characterised the situation as a "misunderstanding" and voiced its hope to reinstate access to the models "as soon as possible."
The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This development comes ten days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to establish a framework for the federal government to vet national security risks posed by advanced AI systems for up to a month prior to their public release, with developer participation being voluntary.
In February, Trump ordered all federal agencies to begin phasing out the use of Anthropic technology following the company’s unusually public dispute with the Pentagon over artificial intelligence safety.
A federal judge later sided with Anthropic, blocking the Pentagon from designating the company as a supply chain risk.
