The policy reserves Anthropic's right to negotiate modified use restrictions with governmental customers, applying a discretionary standard based on Anthropic's own judgment of whether contractual safeguards adequately mitigate the harms the standard policy addresses.
This analysis describes what Anthropic's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision creates a variable policy baseline for governmental customers, meaning that prohibitions stated in the Universal Usage Standards or other policy sections may not apply uniformly to government deployments where Anthropic has entered into a separate contract.
The updated policy clarifies that Anthropic's acceptable use rules apply to all users of its products and services, including API developers, cloud customers, and app users. The policy now explicitly prohibits weapons development and related activities, and introduces a Cyber Verification Program allowing researchers to apply for adjusted safeguards for authorized dual-use work. Enforcement procedures now include warnings and throttling in addition to suspension or termination. You can apply for the Cyber Verification Program or Life Sciences Verification Program if your work involves authorized dual-use or high-risk use cases covered by real-time safeguards.
View change record →Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Governmental Customer Use Restriction Carve-Out and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"Anthropic may enter into contracts with certain governmental customers that tailor use restrictions to that customer's public mission and legal authorities if, in Anthropic's judgment, the contractual use restrictions and applicable safeguards are adequate to mitigate the potential harms addressed by this Usage Policy.Excerpt from Anthropic's API Usage Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages government procurement law, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation in the US context, and may interact with EU public procurement rules for AI system contracts.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
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This provision creates a variable policy baseline for governmental customers, meaning that prohibitions stated in the Universal Usage Standards or other policy sections may not apply uniformly to government deployments where Anthropic has entered into a separate contract.
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