Anthropic prohibits sustained, needless abuse of Claude in updated usage policy

Anthropic has updated its usage policy to prohibit “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior” toward its AI models, including Claude. The policy, announced Thursday and scheduled to take effect Nov. 12, applies only in extreme cases involving repeated cruelty with no discernible purpose, the company said.

Common expressions of frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, and model testing or research are not covered by the restriction. Anthropic said Claude’s ability to end abusive interactions will remain the primary enforcement mechanism. The company introduced that capability in 2025 for rare cases of persistently harmful or abusive user behavior.

The change comes amid debate over whether advanced AI systems could be conscious or merit protections. Anthropic executives have said they remain open to the possibility of machine consciousness, while figures including Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman and Pope Leo XIV have rejected the idea that AI systems feel or suffer.

Anthropic’s broader annual update also consolidates restrictions on fake accounts, fabricated news sites and influence operations into a section prohibiting deceptive campaigns and artificial activity. It narrows the company’s election rules to focus on conduct such as deceiving voters, impersonating candidates or election officials, spreading false voting information and suppressing turnout.

The company also removed its blanket prohibition on personalized voter and campaign targeting, saying the previous rule could block legitimate civic activities such as translating voter information or sending ballot-cure notices. Other revisions clarify requirements for high-risk uses in health, finance, surveillance, weapons development and autonomous control of physical equipment.