Alibaba reportedly bans employees from using Claude Code

# Alibaba reportedly bans employees from using Claude Code | TechCrunch Source: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/04/alibaba-reportedly-bans-employees-from-using-claude-code/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/04/alibaba-reportedly-bans-employees-from-using-claude-code/) In Brief Posted: 9:32 AM PDT · July 4, 2026 **Image Credits:**Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto / Getty ImagesChina’s Alibaba will ban employees from using Anthropic’s programming tool Claude Code, starting on July 10, according to[multiple](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/alibaba-ban-claude-code-workplace-over-alleged-backdoor-risks-source-says-2026-07-03/)[reports](https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202607032148/alibaba-set-to-ban-staff-from-using-claude-over-security-fears)\. Anthropic already prohibits Chinese companies, as well as foreign entities owned by those companies, from using its models\. The company has reportedly been[working to close loopholes](https://www.ft.com/content/ad033063-60f9-4c0c-8d8a-9193a83e6f60)that allow Chinese users to access Claude\. According to[a recent Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1ujila1/anthropic_embedded_spyware_in_claude_code_and/?solution=d4edbe076e50661cd4edbe076e50661c&js_challenge=1&token=7afd7253fec22262ff1c52b1703fe9ecfa243d1261b7ed21d12c5103149b3258&jsc_orig_r=), some of that loophole\-closing involved a version of Claude Code that could secretly identify Chinese users\. Anthropic’s Thariq Shihipar[said in a post on X](https://x.com/trq212/status/2072079729331777817)that this was “an experiment we launched in March that was meant to prevent account abuse from unauthorized resellers and protect against distillation\.” \([Distillation](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/03/artificial-intelligence-definition-glossary-hallucinations-guide-to-common-ai-terms/)is a practice where AI models are trained on the outputs of other models\.\) “The team has landed stronger mitigations since then and we’ve actually been meaning to take this down for a while,” Shihipar said\. Nonetheless, Alibaba has reportedly classified Claude Code as high\-risk software and is instructing employees to use the company’s own Qoder tool instead\. ### Newsletters Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news ## Related ## Latest in AI