The Trump administration has reportedly asked OpenAI to limit the distribution of its forthcoming model, GPT-5.6, to a select group of government-approved partners, citing potential security risks.
The request from White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director and Office of Science and Technology Policy comes as the administration is in the process of creating a framework for testing and evaluating the security of new models, The Information reported on Thursday. The report also indicated that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the plans for a limited rollout in a memo to staff.
In the memo, Altman said that they had made it clear to the U.S. government that this was not their preferred long-term model and that they would work with the government and others in the industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases.
Another report by Axios indicated that Altman spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about GPT-5.6 on Wednesday.
The publication reported that the government’s intervention was driven by GPT-5.6’s “Mythos-like” capabilities, rather than any broader shift toward increased government oversight. A source said the administration is focused on ensuring companies implement adequate safeguards for highly advanced AI models of that caliber.
