The document establishes a category of model behaviors that cannot be unlocked or modified by any operator or user instruction, including refusal to assist with weapons capable of mass casualties and refusal to generate sexual content involving minors.
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 establishes a non-negotiable safety floor across all deployment contexts, meaning operators building products on the Claude API cannot contractually or technically override these restrictions, and users cannot prompt the model past them regardless of framing.
Under this provision, users of any Claude Sonnet 4.5-powered product will encounter absolute refusals in defined categories regardless of the operator's configuration or the user's instructions, as the document states these behaviors are structurally fixed at the model level.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Hardcoded Absolute Refusal Behaviors and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"Hardcoded behaviors are things Claude should always or never do regardless of operator and user instructions. They are actions or abstentions whose potential harms to the world or to trust in Claude or Anthropic are so severe that we think no business or personal justification could outweigh the cost of engaging in them.Excerpt from Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5 System Card
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Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
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This provision establishes a non-negotiable safety floor across all deployment contexts, meaning operators building products on the Claude API cannot contractually or technically override these restrictions, and users cannot prompt the model past them regardless of framing.
Under this provision, users of any Claude Sonnet 4.5-powered product will encounter absolute refusals in defined categories regardless of the operator's configuration or the user's instructions, as the document states these behaviors are structurally fixed at the model level.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic.