The U.S. government issued an export control directive on Friday evening requiring Anthropic to suspend access to its newest artificial intelligence models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for all foreign nationals. In response, Anthropic disabled access to both models for all customers, affecting hundreds of millions of users in what appears to be the first time a leading AI company has taken a publicly deployed model offline due to federal government intervention.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent the directive letter, which was drafted with assistance from the Bureau of Industry and Security. The government cited national security authorities as the basis for the action and identified a potential jailbreak technique that could circumvent safeguards built into the Fable 5 model.
Main Developments
Anthropic released both Fable 5 and Mythos 5 on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. According to the company, Fable 5 was made available to the general public with strong restrictions in place, while Mythos 5 was released only to select trusted partners without such safeguards.
The company explained the reasoning behind its security approach when releasing Fable 5, stating: “Releasing a model this capable comes with risks. Without safeguards, Fable 5’s capabilities in areas like cybersecurity could be misused to cause serious damage.”
Just days after the release, the Commerce Department instructed Anthropic to prevent any foreign national from accessing both models. The directive applies to foreign nationals whether they are inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees.
Anthropic confirmed the scope of the order in a statement: “The US government, citing national security authorities, has issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees.”
The company also explained why it had to take such drastic action: “The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance.”
What We Know So Far
The government provided only verbal evidence of the security issue to Anthropic. The company believes the directive stems from a misunderstanding and has pushed back against the severity of the response.
Anthropic stated: “We disagree that the finding of a narrow potential jailbreak should be cause for recalling a commercial model deployed to hundreds of millions of people.”
The company also expressed concerns about how the directive was handled: “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.”
Last week, the Financial Times reported that the National Security Agency was using Mythos for offensive cyberattacks. This report came before the government directive was issued.
History of Tensions Between Anthropic and Trump Administration
This directive comes amid ongoing tensions between Anthropic and the Trump administration. In February 2026, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to bar Anthropic products from federal agencies. Anthropic subsequently sued the administration over that dispute.
A federal judge in California ruled in Anthropic’s favor in that case.
President Trump signed an AI executive order on June 2, 2026, just days before Anthropic released its new models.
Trump commented on the situation, stating: “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War.”
What Happens Next
The timeline for when access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 might be restored remains unclear. Anthropic has indicated it believes the government action is based on a misunderstanding, but no specific resolution process has been announced.
The company continues to maintain that the government should use transparent and technically grounded processes when making decisions about AI model deployments.
Important Details
The directive affects two distinct AI models with different deployment approaches:
Fable 5 was released to the general public on June 9, 2026, with strong restrictions designed to prevent misuse, particularly in areas like cybersecurity.
Mythos 5 was released on the same day but only to select trusted partners and without the same level of safeguards as Fable 5.
The government identified a potential jailbreak technique specifically for Fable 5, though the exact nature of this vulnerability has not been disclosed publicly.
Hundreds of millions of people who had access to these models are now affected by the suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Anthropic suspend Fable 5 and Mythos 5?
The U.S. government issued an export control directive requiring Anthropic to prevent foreign nationals from accessing both models. To ensure compliance, Anthropic disabled access for all customers.
When were Fable 5 and Mythos 5 released?
Anthropic released both AI models on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. The government directive came just three days later on Friday evening, June 12, 2026.
Who issued the directive to suspend the AI models?
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent the directive letter. The Bureau of Industry and Security helped draft the directive, which cited national security authorities.
What is the difference between Fable 5 and Mythos 5?
Fable 5 was released to the general public with strong restrictions in place. Mythos 5 was released only to select trusted partners without the same safeguards.
Has this happened before with AI models?
This appears to be the first time a leading AI company has taken a publicly deployed model offline due to federal government intervention.
The suspension of Fable 5 and Mythos 5 marks a significant moment in the relationship between AI companies and federal regulators. Anthropic continues to express disagreement with the approach taken by the government while complying with the directive. The company has not indicated when it expects the situation to be resolved or when users might regain access to the suspended models.
