Anthropic does not allow you to develop weapons with Claude

Anthropic has updated its Claude usage policy to reflect the new, advanced capabilities offered by its latest models (Sonnet 4 and Opus 4/4.1 ). Despite the filters implemented by the Californian startup, attackers are attempting to circumvent the protections to trick the chatbot into responding to certain topics. Prohibited uses, including weapons development and cyberattacks, are now more clearly identified.

Prohibited uses of Claude

The new policy will take effect on September 15. Like the current one, it provides for universal standards of use and specific requirements for high-risk uses. One of the new features concerns weapons development .

The current version only states that Claude cannot be used to produce, modify, design, market, or distribute weapons, explosives, hazardous materials, or other systems designed to cause harm or loss of life. The new version specifies that the chatbot must not be used to develop high-yield explosives or biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear weapons .

Anthropic also clarified which uses are prohibited by law enforcement, including surveillance , tracking, profiling, emotional recognition, and biometric categorization. Generating political content is no longer prohibited, but content that impacts democratic processes, such as spreading false information about election candidates or discouraging voter participation, is prohibited.

The bans on generating sexually explicit content, inciting violence, and compromising the privacy and safety of minors remain in effect. In addition to compromising critical infrastructure, Anthropic has expressly prohibited the use of Claude to carry out cyberattacks using vulnerabilities discovered by the chatbot or to create malware.

The company has also clarified its requirements for high-risk uses in several fields: legal, healthcare, insurance, finance, employment, academic testing, and journalism. In all these cases, human review of Claude's responses is mandatory before they are released.