Trump Suddenly Reverses Course After Causing Global Uproar
US President Donald Trump caused a global stir after asking Anthropic to block access to its advanced ‘Mythos’ model for all foreign nationals, including Anthropic’s own employees. The company subsequently responded by banning access to Mythos entirely for all users. Following the total block, an AI system claimed to be similar to Mythos emerged from China under the name ‘Tulongfeng’. Japan also introduced a comparable model called ‘Fugu Ultra’.
It did not take long for Trump to change his mind. On Tuesday (30/6) local time, Anthropic said the US Commerce Department had suspended export controls for its most advanced AI models, namely Fable and Mythos. The announcement came just three weeks after Anthropic was ordered to block access to its advanced AI models for foreign nationals, citing national security risks.
Washington has tightened oversight of new AI model launches to identify potential threats, amid concerns that advanced AI models could be misused by the military intelligence of China, Russia, or other ‘enemy’ nations. Last week, the Trump administration had said it would allow the release of Mythos 5, but only to a few US-trusted institutions. The model is designed to detect cyber security vulnerabilities.
This week, Anthropic said all export controls for its advanced AI models had been lifted after the company implemented several security guidelines, according to Reuters on Thursday (2/7/2026). Anthropic is also working with the US government to expand access to Mythos 5 to a broader range of domestic and international partners through the Glasswing programme. Fable 5, which is intended for the general public and has stronger safeguards, became available starting Wednesday (1/7) this week.
Anthropic has recently drawn attention due to friction with the US government. Previously, Anthropic was ‘kicked out’ with a ban on using its AI systems within the US government environment. This was because Anthropic refused to allow its AI tools to be used to create autonomous weapons and spy on US citizens. However, the relationship between Anthropic and the US government has gradually improved. In addition to deepening ties with the Trump administration, Anthropic is also collaborating with other tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to develop common standards for establishing potential AI jailbreaks. Jailbreaking is a technique for breaching security guidelines.
A letter from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic, seen by Reuters, stated that Anthropic has agreed to work with the US government on protocols for Mythos, Fable, and future models, as well as to inform the US government of any malicious activity. However, Lutnick said his department ‘reserves the right to re-evaluate the decision made in this letter and the need to reimpose licence requirements, if circumstances change or if Anthropic fails to comply with its commitments’.