JUNE 26, 2026

White House asks OpenAI to limit release of its next AI model to government-approved partners

The White House has asked OpenAI to restrict the release of its upcoming GPT 5.6 model to a small number of government-approved partners, citing the model's advanced capabilities. OpenAI agreed to the arrangement, with CEO Sam Altman telling staff in an internal memo that the government is approving access "customer by customer." The administration and OpenAI view GPT 5.6 as comparable in capability to Anthropic's Mythos model, which was subject to a Commerce Department export control order.

The White House's request to OpenAI follows a separate action by the Commerce Department, which placed an export control order on Anthropic, causing the company to pull its most advanced models — Mythos and Fable — over concerns about their cybersecurity capabilities. Administration officials and OpenAI both described GPT 5.6 as "on par" with Mythos, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by CNN.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the arrangement in a memo to staff on Thursday, first reported by The Information. Altman described the situation as a "strange moment" with no true federal regulatory framework in place and said the company has made clear to the government that customer-by-customer approval is "not our preferred long term model." He added that OpenAI would work with the government and industry toward "a more sustainable approach for future releases."

A White House official told CNN the administration continues "to collaborate with frontier AI labs to develop shared approaches for addressing the challenges of scaling this technology." OpenAI declined to comment beyond the contents of Altman's memo.