Legion LegalTech filed a lawsuit on June 23 in a Washington, DC federal court challenging the US government's June 12 directive that barred foreign nationals worldwide from accessing Anthropic's AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company, which used Fable 5 for product development and employed Canadian engineers, claims the restrictions disrupted its operations and seeks to have the directive declared unlawful and blocked from enforcement, according to medianama.com.
The lawsuit contends that the US government exceeded its statutory authority under export-control laws and emergency powers legislation by ordering Anthropic to disable access for foreign users. It argues that no existing export control covers hosted AI models or their outputs, and that the directive violates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Legion LegalTech asserts the government misapplied export-control provisions and acted without a lawful basis in issuing the directive.
This case highlights ongoing tensions around US export controls on advanced AI technology, especially regarding access by foreign nationals. The lawsuit points out that the only export-control classification covering AI model weights does not extend to hosted AI services. The dispute follows increasing US government scrutiny of AI exports amid concerns over technology transfer and national security, raising questions about the scope of regulatory authority over cloud-based AI tools.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to set aside the directive and an injunction preventing its enforcement. The case is pending in the federal court in Washington, DC, with Legion LegalTech aiming to restore access to Anthropic's AI models for its foreign developers and clarify the limits of US export-control laws on hosted AI services.