The US government authorized Anthropic to release its Claude Mythos 5 AI model to over 100 trusted US companies and institutions, including many Fortune 500 firms, allowing use without export licenses [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11].
This follows the imposition of export controls on Mythos 5 and the related Fable 5 model on June 12 by the Trump administration, which led Anthropic to suspend access for foreign nationals and others globally [3, 4, 8, 10, 11].
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “Anthropic has worked with the US government to address risks associated with the Covered Models. These efforts have yielded significant progress,” and added, “I have determined that appropriate safeguards are in place to permit certain trusted partners to access the Claude Mythos 5 Model” [2, 6]. Commerce Department spokesperson Benno Kass noted, "In just two weeks, we have worked diligently to ensure America remains the global leader in AI while safeguarding our security" [6].
The current approval allows Mythos 5 access for trusted organizations, including use by their non-US national employees and Anthropic’s foreign national staff, without requiring export licenses [3, 6, 9, 10, 11].
Anthropic stated, “Mythos 5, our strongest cybersecurity model, can be redeployed to a set of US organisations that operate and defend critical infrastructure. We’re restoring access for these organisations quickly, and we’re continuing to work with the government to expand access to Mythos 5 and make Fable 5 available for general use again” [4].
Negotiations continue over the possible release of Fable 5, but restrictions remain and no timeline was provided [3, 6, 9, 11]. The US government’s controls are driven by concerns over potential misuse of powerful AI by military or intelligence actors in countries such as China and Russia [3, 4, 5, 7, 11].
Anthropic’s refusal to license its models for US military uses tied to domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons led to the company being blacklisted for national security reasons [3, 11].
Some experts criticized the limited transparency around the government’s process for designating “trusted partners.” John Coleman of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said, “No one knows how these companies are picked and why everyone else is excluded. This is putting too much power in the hands of the government. There’s little transparency and it raises questions about the rule of law.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman added, “Extensive safety testing is not a bad idea. I just don’t like the idea of the government picking the customers.” [4].
The partial lifting of restrictions was first reported in media on June 27, following Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s letter to Anthropic on June 26 granting access to the select group [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11].
