UK denies seeking carve-out to Anthropic AI restrictions

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not sought a carve-out to U.S. export controls imposed on Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, a spokesperson said ahead of a lunch between G7 leaders and tech CEOs.

The U.S. government imposed the controls on Friday over concerns that the models’ built-in safeguards could be bypassed. Anthropic said it would comply with the order by removing access to the models for all users.

The incident has reignited concerns about the U.K.’s overreliance on U.S. technology and increased calls for “digital sovereignty,” amid similar fears across Europe.