Anthropic · Anthropic API Usage Policy · View original document ↗

Prohibition on Psychological Manipulation and Deceptive Content

High severity Unique · 0 of 325 platforms
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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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision prohibits some of the most harmful uses of generative AI — including AI-powered influence operations and large-scale disinformation campaigns — and places affirmative obligations on operators to prevent their platforms from being used for these purposes.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

High Feb 27, 2026

Defense contractors and federal agencies using Claude must find alternatives. Enterprise customers with defense-adjacent business face compliance risk.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Anthropic's AUP directly affects what you can ask Claude to do — violations can result in your account being throttled, suspended, or permanently terminated without prior notice. For users of third-party apps built on Claude, the policy applies equally, meaning the app developer's failure to comply can affect your access too. You can report harmful or inaccurate AI outputs at usersafety@anthropic.com or via the in-product thumbs-down feedback feature.

How other platforms handle this

Runway Medium

You may not use Runway's tools to create content that promotes, glorifies, or facilitates acts of terrorism, mass violence, or genocide, or that could be used to provide material support to individuals or organizations engaged in such activities.

Midjourney Medium

Do not generate images for political campaigns or to try to influence the outcome of an election. Do not generate images to spread misinformation or disinformation. Do not generate images to attempt to or to actually deceive or defraud anyone. Do not intentionally mislead recipients of generated ima...

OpenAI Medium

Don't claim to be human when directly and sincerely asked, use AI to deceive people about its fundamental nature, or impersonate real people or organizations in misleading ways.

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Develop a new product or service, or support an existing product or service that employs or facilitates deceptive techniques with the intent of causing emotional harm

— Excerpt from Anthropic's Anthropic API Usage Policy

Applicable regulations

CFAA
United States Federal
DMCA
United States Federal
DSA
European Union
Trump Executive Order on AI Policy Framework
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
Anthropic API Usage Policy
Entity
Anthropic
Document last updated
May 11, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 6, 2026
Last verified
April 28, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-000118
Document ID
CA-D-00013
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
fe6f60bf15130bb0c59c7054ad8111501f08769394cd72b598d456d524e13f2e
Analysis generated
March 6, 2026 20:36 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Anthropic
Document: Anthropic API Usage Policy
Record ID: CA-P-000118
Captured: 2026-03-06 20:36:08 UTC
SHA-256: fe6f60bf15130bb0…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/anthropic/anthropic-api-usage-policy/prohibition-on-psychological-manipulation-and-deceptive-content/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Anthropic's Prohibition on Psychological Manipulation and Deceptive Content clause do?

This provision prohibits some of the most harmful uses of generative AI — including AI-powered influence operations and large-scale disinformation campaigns — and places affirmative obligations on operators to prevent their platforms from being used for these purposes.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Anthropic?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic.