Korean Telecom giant that made White House 'decide' that it could not trust Anthropic to safeguard its latest AI models
There's more to the US government's ban on Anthropic 's latest AI model Fable 5 use anywhere on Earth outside America. According to a report by Wired, the Trump administration's decision to enforce strict export controls on Anthropic’s most advanced AI technology was triggered by a dispute over the startup granting South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom access to its powerful Claude Mythos model. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that US officials were not happy with alleged ties between SK Telecom and China. The matters turned more tense after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy flagged vulnerabilities in Fable 5. Amazon reportedly alerted the Trump administration that its researchers had managed to “jailbreak” Fable – or bypass its safety guardrails – in a way that could threaten national security.
In its report, Wired said that the situation builds upon earlier reporting by The Washington Post, which noted administration alarms over a then-unnamed South Korean telecom company. In response to those initial reports, SK Telecom told a Korean newspaper that the anonymous allegations lacked verified facts and denied any ties to China. Furthermore, a source close to Anthropic emphasized that the company viewed the SK Telecom access and the Amazon security flaws as entirely separate issues, pointing out that the official government mandate restricting access exclusively to US citizens made no explicit mention of China or the Korean carrier.
A person close to the administration told Wired that the series of events led the White House to conclude it could not trust Anthropic to secure its cutting-edge tech. Consequently, the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to revoke access to Mythos and Fable 5 for all foreign nationals, including those residing within the United States. Rather than implementing a logistically complex and privacy-infringing nationality-based gatekeeping system, Anthropic chose to take the models entirely offline, leaving the company and the White House deadlocked after days of tense negotiations.
In its report, Wired said that the situation builds upon earlier reporting by The Washington Post, which noted administration alarms over a then-unnamed South Korean telecom company. In response to those initial reports, SK Telecom told a Korean newspaper that the anonymous allegations lacked verified facts and denied any ties to China. Furthermore, a source close to Anthropic emphasized that the company viewed the SK Telecom access and the Amazon security flaws as entirely separate issues, pointing out that the official government mandate restricting access exclusively to US citizens made no explicit mention of China or the Korean carrier.
A person close to the administration told Wired that the series of events led the White House to conclude it could not trust Anthropic to secure its cutting-edge tech. Consequently, the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to revoke access to Mythos and Fable 5 for all foreign nationals, including those residing within the United States. Rather than implementing a logistically complex and privacy-infringing nationality-based gatekeeping system, Anthropic chose to take the models entirely offline, leaving the company and the White House deadlocked after days of tense negotiations.
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