The US Commerce Department ordered Anthropic to block foreign access to its most advanced AI models on June 13, and within hours the company pulled the plug globally. Not just for foreign nationals. For everyone, including American users.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seized on the moment to make a point he’s been building toward since taking office in March 2025: relying on a handful of powerful American AI providers is a strategic vulnerability, not just an inconvenience.
What happened and why it matters
The export control directive specifically targeted two Anthropic models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The Trump administration’s justification centered on national security concerns tied to what Anthropic itself characterized as a “narrow, non-universal jailbreak” connected to undiscovered software vulnerabilities.
Fable 5 had been released more broadly earlier in June, while Mythos 5 already had limited availability due to cybersecurity considerations. The directive forced Anthropic to disable both models across the board, a decision the company complied with despite publicly expressing disagreement with the order’s lack of clarity.
