Anthropic has disabled public access to its newly released flagship AI models, Claude Fable 5 and the more powerful Mythos 5, following a directive from the US government. The company took the models offline for all users worldwide late on June 12, 2026, just three days after Fable 5’s public launch.
The US Commerce Department issued an export control order requiring Anthropic to suspend access to both models for all foreign nationals, including those inside the United States and certain foreign-national employees of the company. Citing national security concerns, officials pointed to a reported jailbreak vulnerability that could potentially enable malicious uses such as advanced hacking or other high-risk applications.
Anthropic stated that real-time segmentation of users by nationality was not technically feasible in the short term. As a result, the company chose to disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 entirely to ensure full compliance. Other Claude models, including earlier versions, remain available to users.
Fable 5 was positioned as a more accessible version of the Mythos-class model with additional safety guardrails. It quickly gained attention for strong performance across benchmarks upon its release on June 9. Mythos 5 had been available to select approved partners with heightened restrictions.
In a public statement, Anthropic expressed disagreement with the government’s assessment of the risks, noting that the models’ capabilities were not uniquely dangerous compared to other frontier systems. The company said it is complying with the legal directive while seeking further dialogue. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was reportedly involved in the communication to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
The swift intervention has sent ripples through the AI industry, raising questions about regulatory oversight of frontier models and the balance between innovation and security. It marks one of the most direct government actions targeting specific AI model releases rather than hardware. Users have begun inquiring about refunds for recent subscriptions, while international observers have criticized the move as potentially accelerating global AI fragmentation.
Anthropic continues to work with authorities and has not provided a timeline for restoring access. The episode highlights growing tensions between leading AI labs and the Trump administration over control of powerful technologies.