The US government cannot use export-control laws to restrict access to Anthropic’s AI models because no existing export control covers hosted AI models or their outputs, according to a lawsuit filed by Legion LegalTech against the US government in a federal court in Washington, DC.
Filed on June 23, the lawsuit argues that the government’s June 12 directive ordering Anthropic to disable its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign nationals worldwide exceeded its statutory authority under US export-control laws and emergency powers legislation. The legal technology company, which relied on Fable 5 for product development and employed Canadian developers, says the restrictions disrupted its operations and prevented its engineers from accessing tools central to its business.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the directive is unlawful, an order setting it aside, and an injunction preventing its enforcement. Legion argues that the government acted beyond its legal authority, misapplied export-control provisions, violated limits contained in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and issued the directive without a lawful basis.
No export control covers hosted AI models: The lawsuit argues that the government’s export-control authority does not extend to access to hosted AI models.
According to the filing:
- The “only export-control classification that ever directly covered advanced AI model weights — ECCN 4E091 — was rescinded in May 2025 with no replacement”.
- “No currently operative provision of the Commerce Control List classifies access to a hosted AI model, or its inferential text output, as a controlled item.”
The lawsuit therefore alleges that “Commerce cannot enforce a control that does not exist.”
The complaint further contends that users of Fable 5 never received model weights, source code, or technical data and therefore did not receive anything that would qualify as a controlled export.
Government stretched export-control powers beyond intended purpose: Legion also challenges the legal mechanisms the government relied on to suspend access to Anthropic’s models.
According to the complaint:
- The directive relied on Section 4817(b)(1) of the Export Control Reform Act and a BIS “Is Informed” letter issued to Anthropic.
- Legion argues that Section 4817(b)(1) can only be used after the government follows a formal process, including rulemaking and coordination with international partners, which “never occurred.”
- The company also argues that “Is Informed” letters are normally used in specific cases where authorities identify concerns about a particular customer, end user or military-related activity.
- However, the June 12 directive applied to “any foreign national” worldwide, regardless of nationality, location or intended use.
- The complaint describes the measure as a blanket restriction and argues that the government used a…
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