4 min readNew DelhiJul 2, 2026 09:14 AM IST
First published on: Jul 1, 2026 at 09:00 AM IST
Frontier AI lab Anthropic, on Tuesday, said that the US Department of Commerce has lifted export restrictions imposed on two of its advanced AI models – Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The move follows the government’s decision three weeks ago to require the Dario Amodei-led company to suspend access to the AI models over national security concerns.
The company took to its official X handle to announce that it will begin restoring access starting Wednesday, July 1, and will be sharing an update soon. “We’ve received notice that the Department of Commerce has lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5. We’ll begin restoring access tomorrow and will share an update soon,” the company wrote in X, adding that it is grateful to its users for their patience and to all who worked with it on redeploying the models.
The US has beefed up its oversight of new AI model releases to detect potential threats amid growing concerns that advanced AI models could be misused by military and intelligence agencies in China, Russia and other countries.
The export control order was announced on June 12, following which the company had disabled access to Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models. However, on June 26, Reuters reported that the US government would allow Anthropic to redeploy Mythos 5 beginning June 28 to certain trusted US organisations.
According to a letter accessed by Reuters, the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that export controls have been withdrawn and that a licence is no longer required for the export of the Mythos and Fable models. “Anthropic has agreed to proactively detect and address security risks associated with the models; to work diligently with the US government on protocols and standards and releases for Mythos, Fable, and future models; and to inform the US government of any malicious activity,” Lutnick said.
This is the first major instance of the US using export control laws directly against AI models, rather than against chips or hardware. It also establishes that governments may regulate powerful AI systems much like strategic technologies. The development shows a new regulatory model, where companies developing frontier AI may be expected to coordinate with governments before wider releases. It indicates that national-security concerns could delay or limit AI models, also suggesting that compliance may become a prerequisite for global rollout.
Regardless of the latest announcement, the government’s intervention into which company gains access to these frontier models continues to draw criticism. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, while acknowledging that extensive safety testing is needed, recently said that he did not like the idea of the government picking the customers.
Anthropic is not alone; this also impacts other AI companies. OpenAI recently delayed the broader release of GPT-5.6, extending it only to vetted partners after discussions with the US government. This also shows that the US government is taking a much more active role in overseeing the deployment of the most advanced AI models.
Anthropic begins restoring Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after the US lifts export controls, marking a major shift in how frontier AI models are regulated. (Image: Reuters) 
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