The US Commerce Department lifted export controls on Anthropic's Fable and Mythos AI models on Tuesday, less than three weeks after the company was ordered to suspend access over national security risks. Anthropic announced in an X post that it would begin restoring access the following day.
Background of Export Controls
Washington has stepped up oversight of new AI model releases amid concerns that advanced models could be misused by military intelligence in China, Russia, or other countries. Anthropic disabled its Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models after a June 12 export-control order. Last week, the US government allowed release of Mythos 5 only to some "trusted" US organizations.
Details of the Lifting
A letter from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seen by Reuters, confirmed the withdrawal of export controls. Lutnick stated that Anthropic had "agreed to proactively detect and address security risks associated with the models" and to work diligently 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 added that the department "reserves the right to reevaluate the decisions made in this letter and the necessity of reimposing a license requirement, should circumstances change or should Anthropic fail to adhere to its commitments."
Model Differences and Safeguards
Both Fable and Mythos use the same underlying AI model, but Fable is designed for wide public use, while some safeguards are lifted for Mythos. Anthropic implemented a new safeguard that targets and blocks a technique believed to be a method of bypassing or "jailbreaking" Fable 5, according to a company source who declined to be identified. The source added that the vulnerabilities found by the technique had been known and patched earlier.
Expert Concerns and Industry Context
Experts have warned that Mythos models, in the wrong hands, could dramatically accelerate sophisticated cyberattacks, particularly in sectors like banking that rely on complex, interconnected, and often decades-old technology systems. The government's decision to allow access to Mythos to some "trusted" US organizations came alongside OpenAI's announcement that it had delayed a full public launch of GPT-5.6 at the US government's request, limiting access to a small group of vetted partners. Those actions drew criticism for being unfair and not transparent in choosing which companies were considered "trusted."
Regulatory Framework
Increased scrutiny of AI models began this month with President Donald Trump signing an executive order establishing a voluntary framework for AI developers to offer "covered frontier models" to the US government for up to 30 days before releasing them to trusted partners. Isaac Harris, executive director of the Frontier Security Institute, a nonprofit focused on AI and national security, said Tuesday's lifting of curbs indicated that "there’s now a process for standards of the US models." But he added: "There's still a question mark as to how equivalently dangerous capabilities coming from China with less guardrails will be handled by the administration in the US market."
Anthropic's Relationship with US Government
Both OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for US initial public offerings. Anthropic's relationship with the US government has been particularly rocky this year. The Pentagon designated the company a "supply-chain risk," preventing contractors from using Anthropic's AI when working for the US military, after the company refused to allow its models to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons systems.
