Anthropic bans account that used Claude to profile citizens in Iran and Gulf states

Anthropic shut down an account in June 2026 after finding it had been used to build a surveillance platform that classified social media users across Iran and the Persian Gulf by political loyalty, location, and demographic group, according to the company's threat-intelligence report published September 10, 2026. The account was tied to surveillance-for-hire firm S2T Unlocking Cyberspace, whose operator amassed over 255 counterfeit social media personas in Persian, Arabic, English, and German; the platform was caught in its pilot phase and no confirmed real-world targeting of individuals has been verified. The report also flagged Iranian state-affiliated units using Claude for domestic intelligence, including a case-management system called "Arman" and a malicious browser extension allegedly linked to surveillance of dissidents.

Logo via Wikimedia Commons; license to verify on approval Anthropic bans account that used Claude to profile citizens in Iran and Gulf states An operator linked to surveillance firm S2T Unlocking Cyberspace built a platform to classify people as pro- or anti-government by name, location, and demographic group. Anthropic shut down an account in June 2026 after discovering it had been used to build a surveillance platform that classified social media users across Iran and the Persian Gulf by their political loyalties, physical locations, and demographic profiles. The account was tied to S2T Unlocking Cyberspace, a surveillance-for-hire firm that previous investigations by organizations like Forbidden Stories have flagged for similar work. The platform was caught in its pilot phase. No confirmed real-world targeting of actual individuals has been verified. What the threat report revealed The ban was disclosed in Anthropic’s threat-intelligence report published on September 10, 2026, covering misuse activity from December 2025 through August 2026. The operator behind the account reportedly amassed over 255 counterfeit social media personas spread across four languages: Persian, Arabic, English, and German. These fake accounts were designed to infiltrate both pro- and anti-government communities inside Iran. Anthropic’s existing safeguards managed to block explicit profiling requests. But some surveillance-related software tooling slipped through. The report also flagged separate incidents involving Iranian state-affiliated units that used Claude for domestic intelligence purposes. One involved the development of a case-management system called “Arman.” Another centered on a malicious browser extension allegedly linked to state surveillance efforts targeting dissidents. Anthropic said it shared its findings with partners that track surveillance-for-hire firms. S2T and the surveillance-for-hire industry S2T Unlocking Cyberspace is not a newcomer to this space. Prior reporting by Forbidden Stories documented the firm’s involvement in similar surveillance activities, placing it within a growing ecosystem of private companies that sell digital espionage tools to governments. Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/ .