Amazon CEO Influenced Trump Administration's AI Restrictions on Anthropic, WSJ Reports

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy played a role in the Trump administration's decision to restrict the use of artificial intelligence models developed by Anthropic, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report cites sources familiar with the matter, indicating that Jassy held conversations with U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

During these discussions, Jassy reportedly voiced concerns that Anthropic's Fable 5 model could provide information usable for cyberattacks, stating that it "in theory, should be prohibited." Shortly after these conversations, White House officials met and decided to prevent foreign governments, companies, and individuals from using Anthropic's AI.

Following this directive, Anthropic announced it would suspend public access to its most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company stated that the order to prevent access outside the U.S. or by foreigners within the country was received on Friday afternoon.

This development comes as Amazon has made substantial investments in Anthropic. In April, Amazon announced an additional investment of at least $5 billion, tied to an AI deal where Anthropic committed to spending $100 billion on Amazon Web Services over the next decade. A spokesperson for Amazon told the WSJ that it is common for governments to seek their advice on potential security risks as a leading cloud service provider.

Previously, in March, Anthropic sued the Trump administration after it was designated a national security risk in the supply chain and refused to provide its AI models to the Department of War. The dispute centered on Anthropic's conditions for limiting the use of its technology and ensuring it would not be used for spying on Americans or for autonomous weapons.