Anthropic Removed From National Security Threat List Under Trump Administration

US President Donald Trump has said he no longer considers artificial intelligence company Anthropic or its chief executive, Dario Amodei, to be a national security threat, marking a notable shift in the administration's stance toward the AI startup following recent regulatory scrutiny and discussions with company officials.

In an interview with Axios, Trump acknowledged that his concerns about Anthropic had eased significantly over the past week. When asked whether he viewed the company as a national security risk, the president replied, "Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe." The remarks suggest a cooling of tensions after a period of heightened concern within the administration over the security of advanced artificial intelligence systems.

The dispute centred on fears that foreign actors could gain access to Anthropic's most advanced AI models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5. US officials reportedly worried that individuals might circumvent built-in safeguards and use the technology to identify vulnerabilities in software systems or exploit powerful AI capabilities for malicious purposes. These concerns prompted closer scrutiny of the company's security protocols and international access policies.

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The issue escalated on June 12 when the US Commerce Department issued an emergency export-control directive requiring Anthropic to suspend foreign-national access to the advanced models, including access by some international employees. In response, the company temporarily expanded restrictions and implemented additional compliance measures aimed at addressing the government's concerns regarding security and model access.

Trump praised Anthropic's handling of the situation, saying Amodei had acted "very quickly" and "responsibly" in complying with the administration's directives. The president's comments followed discussions with global leaders and technology executives at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, where Amodei and representatives from Google DeepMind reportedly advocated for a US-led international framework for artificial intelligence cooperation and governance.

While signalling a willingness to ease restrictions on Anthropic, Trump stopped short of ruling out future intervention. He noted that the administration retains broad emergency powers under the Defence Production Act and could act again if necessary. However, he suggested that further measures may not be required at present, indicating that the company's recent actions have helped alleviate immediate national security concerns surrounding its advanced AI systems.

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