Anthropic Sets Agent Rules
Anthropic's 2026 Usage Policy adds hardware safety requirements for AI agents, effective November 12.
Anthropic published its 2026 Usage Policy on October 8, introducing safety requirements for AI agents controlling physical hardware. The rules take effect November 12.
Deceptive activity restrictions, previously scattered across elections, fraud, privacy, and disinformation sections, are now consolidated into a single section. The policy also tightens definitions around weapons software components and non-consensual surveillance, while removing the blanket ban on personalized vote targeting.
The most substantive new provision targets agentic use: when Claude is connected to hardware capable of autonomous physical actions, a qualified operator must be able to observe and stop the equipment, which must also hold a safe state if disconnected. A prohibition on extreme abusive behavior toward models was added, limited to purposeless cruelty.
Anthropic emphasized that most updates clarify existing enforcement rather than introduce new bans.