US Government orders Anthropic to shut down Fable 5 and Mythos 5 globally

Anthropic has disabled access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models worldwide after receiving an export control directive from the US government, marking one of the most aggressive restrictions yet placed on the distribution of advanced artificial intelligence systems.

According to Anthropic, the directive requires the company to suspend access to both models for all foreign nationals, whether they are located inside or outside the United States. The order also applies to foreign-national employees working at Anthropic itself. Because of the scope of the directive, the company said it had no practical way to selectively enforce the restriction and instead disabled both models for all users globally.

The move affects Anthropic’s newest and most advanced AI systems. Fable 5 was only recently released to a wider audience, while Mythos 5 remained more tightly controlled due to its advanced cybersecurity capabilities and ability to identify software vulnerabilities. Other Claude models remain available and are not affected by the directive.

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The US government has not publicly provided detailed information about the national security concerns behind the order. Anthropic said its understanding is that regulators became aware of a method for “jailbreaking” Fable 5, allowing users to bypass some of the model’s safeguards. The company disputes the severity of the issue, arguing that the demonstrated technique was narrow in scope and only exposed a small number of previously known software vulnerabilities. Anthropic also claimed similar results could already be achieved using other publicly available AI models.

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In a public statement, Anthropic said it complied with the directive immediately after receiving it but disagreed with the government’s decision. The company described the situation as a misunderstanding and said it is working to restore access to the models as soon as possible.

The decision represents a notable shift in how governments are approaching AI regulation. Previous export controls largely focused on semiconductors, advanced chips, and computing infrastructure. This directive targets the AI models themselves, treating access to advanced artificial intelligence as a matter of national security.

For users outside the United States, the immediate impact is straightforward: Fable 5 and Mythos 5 are no longer available. For the broader AI industry, the implications are potentially much larger. The order suggests that governments may increasingly view frontier AI systems as strategic technologies similar to advanced semiconductors, with access restrictions based not only on geography but also on nationality.

The shutdown comes as AI companies face growing scrutiny over model safety, cybersecurity risks, and the potential military applications of advanced AI systems. While Anthropic maintains that the vulnerabilities cited by regulators are limited and already known within the industry, the government’s response signals a willingness to intervene directly when it believes frontier models could pose a national security risk.

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