Amazon's cybersecurity research led to a White House directive banning foreign nationals from using Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, sparking debate over whether the findings constitute a jailbreak.
<figure>
<img alt="Anthropic logo on an orange and grey background." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/STK269_ANTHROPIC_2_A.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p class="has-text-align-none">According to the<em> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/amazon-ceos-talks-with-u-s-officials-triggered-crackdown-on-anthropic-models-dcc90578?mod=hp_lead_pos1">Wall Street Journal</a></em>, the export control directive that led to Anthropic <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949553/anthropic-fable-5-mythos-5-government-national-security">cutting off access</a> to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/946725/anthropic-releases-claude-fable-5-mythos">Fable 5</a> to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-none">Shortly after Jassy shared the company's findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals. Complicating this issue is that many of …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949601/amazon-anthropic-fablemythos-government-ban">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Amazon security research reportedly led to the White House’s Anthropic Fable ban
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949601/amazon-anthropic-fablemythos-government-ban](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949601/amazon-anthropic-fablemythos-government-ban)
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/terrence-obrien)
Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor\. He has over 18 years of experience, including 10 years as managing editor at Engadget\.
According to the*[Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/amazon-ceos-talks-with-u-s-officials-triggered-crackdown-on-anthropic-models-dcc90578?mod=hp_lead_pos1)*, the export control directive that led to Anthropic[cutting off access](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949553/anthropic-fable-5-mythos-5-government-national-security)to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House\. According to the report, the paper from Amazon claims that, through a series of prompts, it was able to get[Fable 5](https://www.theverge.com/news/946725/anthropic-releases-claude-fable-5-mythos)to serve up information that could be used in cyberattacks\. Amazon has yet to respond to a request for comment\.
Shortly after Jassy shared the company’s findings with the government, it made the call to block its use by foreign nationals\. Complicating this issue is that many of Anthropic’s researchers are foreign\-born, meaning they were barred from accessing their own product\.
In a[statement](https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access), Anthropic disputed the government’s characterization of the issue as a “jailbreak\.” It argued that many of the same vulnerabilities could be discovered using other publicly available models, including GPT 5\.5\. Some security researchers appear to back the company’s interpretation\. Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of LutaSecurity[posted on BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/k8em0.bsky.social/post/3mo6ik3hruk2e)that “I’ve seen the paper\. It’s not a jailbreak\.” Former Commerce Department official[Kate Koren](https://www.csis.org/people/kate-koren)speculated to the*WSJ*that the White House’s dislike of Anthropic may have influenced the decision\.
Anthropic and the Trump administration have been[at odds](https://www.theverge.com/news/885773/anthropic-department-of-defense-dod-pentagon-refusal-terms-hegseth-dario-amodei)for[some time](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/883456/anthropic-pentagon-department-of-defense-negotiations)over the company’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or to power lethal autonomous weapons\. In February, Trump instructed federal agencies to[stop using](https://www.theverge.com/policy/886489/pentagon-anthropic-trump-dod)Anthropic’s AI\. And just hours later, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth designated the company a[supply chain risk](https://www.theverge.com/policy/886632/pentagon-designates-anthropic-supply-chain-risk-ai-standoff)\.
The government and the company seemed to have[made](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/913516/now-the-white-house-is-reportedly-preparing-for-access-to-mythos)[amends](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/914229/tides-turning-anthropic-trump-administration-cybersecurity-mythos-preview), and the two had worked together to[expand access](https://www.anthropic.com/news/expanding-project-glasswing)to Mythos\. However, now the two seem destined to clash again\.
**Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\.
- Terrence O'Brien
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reportedly raised security concerns about Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 model with U.S. officials, leading to an export control ban on two Anthropic models.
The US government has issued an export control directive to suspend access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models due to national security concerns, citing a potential jailbreak method. Anthropic is complying by disabling access for all customers, but disputes the severity of the vulnerability.
Anthropic cut off access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models following a government export control directive citing national security concerns, blocking all foreign nationals and even internal employees. The company complied but criticized the lack of specific evidence, stating the alleged vulnerabilities were minor and available in other models like GPT-5.5.
Anthropic disables its Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models after receiving a US government export control directive citing national security concerns, escalating tensions between the company and the Trump administration.
The Trump administration ordered Anthropic to shut down its Fable 5 AI model using export law, marking the first time federal regulators have removed a deployed AI system from public access.