What did US tell Anthropic before banning Mythos and Fable for foreigners? Read full letter here

Last week, the US government instructed Anthropic to block access of its Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models to all foreigners, including its own employees. Now, the letter sent by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei regarding this ban has surfaced online.

In Short

• US Commerce Secretary sent a letter to Dario Amodei over Mythos and Fable ban
• Howard Lutnick warned of criminal and civil penalties if Anthropic didn’t comply
• Lutnick cited US laws that allowed the government to control exports

The US took a big step in the AI race last week. On Friday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directed Anthropic to stop giving foreigners, including its own employees, access to Mythos 5 and Fable 5 – two of the most powerful AI models out there. This marked the first time that a government had taken direct action in blocking access to an AI model to foreign nationals. Now, the letter that was sent by Lutnick has surfaced online.

A copy of the letter sent by Lutnick to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was obtained by Bloomberg. The letter dated June 12 informed Amodei that his company was not allowed to give the two models to foreign nationals anywhere in the world without a licence from the US Commerce Department.

That is, even if a foreign national was present in the US, or was working for Anthropic, they were not allowed to use Mythos 5 or Fable 5 without the permission of the US government.

US warned of criminal penalties if Anthropic didn’t comply

In the letter, the US commerce secretary warned that if Anthropic failed to abide by the directive, then it could face “criminal and civil penalties” as provided by the law. Keep in mind that Anthropic ultimately decided to simply stop access to both models for all users, and not just non-US citizens.

The letter cited US laws that allow the government to impose export controls on civilian technology that could be used for intelligence purposes by an adversary's military, but did not give a specific basis for why the restrictions were necessary.

Though reports indicate that US officials were concerned that Mythos or Fable could be jailbroken and used for cyberattacks, potentially by China-linked groups. Anthropic has stated that it is working with the US government to come to a solution and restore access to its models.

The order from Lutnick marks the most significant intervention by the US government to date in an AI venture's operations. Though the US Pentagon had previously labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk after a fallout over military AI use. It also comes weeks after Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO with its latest valuation crossing $900 billion.

Here is the full letter sent by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:

“Dear Mr. Amodei:

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, is charged with administering and enforcing the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) (50 U.S.C. 4801-4852). Specifically, 1758(b)(1) of ECRA (50 U.S.C. 4817(b)(1)) authorizes BIS to establish interim controls on emerging and foundational technologies that are essential to the national security of the United States and are not critical technologies described in clauses (i) through (v) of 50 U.S.C. 4565(a)(6)(A). In addition, 50 U.S.C. 4813(a)(15) authorizes BIS to establish and maintain a process to inform persons by specific notice that a license from BIS is required to export, and 744.22(b) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 C.F.R. parts 730-774) specifically authorizes BIS to require a license for the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) of any item subject to the EAR because there is an unacceptable risk of use in, or diversion to, a 'military-intelligence end use' or a 'military-intelligence end user' as specified in 744.22(a) and (f) of the EAR.

Consistent with these authorities, I am informing you that a license is required for the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country), including deemed exports and deemed reexports, of Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5 Model and Claude Fable 5 Model to all destinations worldwide and to all "foreign persons," as defined in 772.1 of the EAR, wherever located. To be clear, this license requirement applies, inter alia, to the transmission or release of the Mythos and Fable models in any of the following ways:

The sending or taking of the model out of the United States in any manner (see 734.13(a)(1) of the EAR).

The sending or taking of the model from one foreign country to another in any manner (see 734.14(a)(1) of the EAR).

Retransferring the model within a single foreign country (see 734.16 of the EAR).

The release of the model to a "foreign person" in the United States or a foreign country (see 734.13(a)(2) and 734.14(a)(2) of the EAR).

Accordingly, until further notice, you must submit an application for an individually-validated license prior to the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country), including deemed export or deemed reexport, of the Mythos or Fable models to any destination worldwide or to any "foreign person" wherever located. Failure to comply will result in prompt criminal and civil penalties, as provided for by law.

When submitting a license application through the Simplified Network Application Process Redesign (SNAP-R) (https://snapr.bis.gov), you must indicate in the "Additional Information" box that the application is submitted based on this "Is Informed" Letter and attach a copy of the letter with your license application.

The license requirements set forth in this letter remain in effect until superseded by a subsequent letter from BIS informing you of a revision to or recission [sic] of this letter.

If you have any questions about this letter, please contact me or the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Jeffrey Kessler [at (202) phone number, which is partially covered by Lutnick's signature]

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Howard W. Lutnick

Secretary of Commerce”

- Ends