US Government Orders Shutdown of Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI Models The shutdown of Anthropic’s most advanced AI models has rapidly shifted from a narrow security scare to a global argument over who controls frontier AI.

On June 9, Anthropic publicly launched Fable 5, describing it as its most capable generally available model, with Mythos 5 as a more powerful, restricted variant built on the same core system. Just three days later, Amazon security researchers reported they could prompt Fable 5 to reveal code-level vulnerabilities using a “fix this code” style workflow, a capability they warned could aid cyberattacks. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy relayed the findings directly to senior White House officials, helping trigger an emergency review.

On June 12, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent Anthropic an export-control order barring any foreign national from accessing Fable 5 or Mythos 5, including many of Anthropic’s own staff. Anthropic said it received the directive at 5:21 p.m. ET and, lacking technical means to selectively block foreign users immediately, “had to cut off access to Mythos and Fable for all customers.” The company insisted the government had shown only a “potential narrow, non-universal jailbreak” that surfaced “minor” vulnerabilities also discoverable with other public models.

The Trump administration counters that treating such systems as national security assets is necessary, especially amid fears that China-linked groups could access or distill Mythos. Officials say the models will stay locked down until the security apparatus is “hardened.”

Anthropic’s stance has found support from cybersecurity leaders. Around 100 experts signed an open letter arguing the ban “has taken the best models away from defenders, created market uncertainty, and risked America’s AI leadership without any real risk to justify it.”

Globally, the episode is galvanizing calls for “sovereign AI.” Commentators note that “Anthropic’s model shutdown just handed India’s sovereign AI movement its strongest argument yet,” while European startup Mistral says the affair proves that when U.S. providers “have the keys,” foreign users are exposed to Washington’s politics. Open‑source advocates echo the shift, with one viral reaction summing up the mood: “Fable is banned. Long live local AI.”

Amid crisis talks in Washington, Anthropic says it is complying but “working to restore access as soon as possible,” while warning that, if this standard were applied broadly, it would “essentially halt all new model deployments for all frontier model providers.”

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