US Lifts Export Restrictions on Anthropic's AI Models

US Lifts Export Restrictions on Anthropic's AI Models">

The US has lifted a requirement that Anthropic obtain a license before exporting its Mythos and Fable models abroad, a requirement that effectively cut off public access to what are widely considered the most advanced AI models released to date. The AI lab said it would begin restoring access to the models on Wednesday, July 1. On June 12, the US government had added the products to its list of export-restricted technologies, meaning they could no longer be made available to foreign nationals without special approval.

Complying with that rule proved impractical at scale, forcing Anthropic to end public access to the models altogether. Now, after weeks of talks, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Anthropic “has agreed to proactively detect and address security risks associated with the models; to work diligently with the U.S. government on protocols and standards and releases for Mythos, Fable and future models; and to inform the US government of any malicious activity.” Anthropic had already publicly pledged to do much of this voluntarily, months before the export rule existed.

That’s part of why cybersecurity experts were skeptical of the restrictions in the first place. To them, the ban looked less like a security fix and more like leverage, a way for the Trump administration to punish Anthropic for its executives’ public criticism of how the government, and the president’s political opponents, might use the technology. Mythos was originally made available to a select group of organizations beginning in April to allay concerns about its ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in software, while a version called Fable was released to the public in June with additional security guardrails.

However, with Asian AI companies beginning to release their own AI models approaching Mythos-level capabilities — among them Fugu and Tulonfeng — the US government was under pressure to ease its restrictions on Anthropic to ensure that American AI could compete globally. Last week, Lutnick cleared Mythos to be released to select customers approved by the White House. OpenAI’s latest models were also released to a group of organizations approved by the Trump team, instead of the public.

The Trump administration’s erratic approach to AI policymaking has left companies across the industry with little clarity about what will govern future model releases. An executive order issued in June that signaled a desire to review models ahead of release was criticized by influential analysts like Dean W. Ball, who recently started a policy position at OpenAI.

Why this matters: The lifting of export restrictions on Anthropic's AI models marks a significant shift in the US government's approach to AI regulation. By allowing global access to these advanced models, the US is enabling American AI companies to compete more effectively in the global market. However, this move also raises questions about the potential risks associated with the widespread adoption of advanced AI models.