Summary
Anthropic has updated its Usage Policy for Claude, with the new version taking effect November 12. Most changes clarify existing rules, while the update also adds a prohibition on sustained, needless abuse of its models.
Anthropic announced a revised Usage Policy for Claude on October 8, 2026. The new version takes effect November 12, 2026. Anthropic says most changes clarify how existing rules apply as its models take on longer, more independent work; the update also adds a new prohibition on sustained and needless abusive behaviour toward its models.
The revisions sharpen rules covering deceptive campaigns, elections, weapons, surveillance and high-risk uses. They also set out requirements for Claude-connected equipment that can take physical actions.
New detail on deception, elections and weapons
A new section, “Do Not Engage in Deceptive Campaigns or Artificial Activity,” gathers restrictions that were previously spread across other parts of the policy. It covers attempts to conceal who is behind a message, amplify content using fake accounts or posts, and build tools or infrastructure for influence campaigns. The rule applies to deceptive activity whether political or commercial.
Anthropic has also narrowed the focus of its elections section, now titled “Do Not Undermine Democratic Processes.” The policy specifically prohibits using Claude to deceive voters or disrupt elections, including by spreading false information about candidates or voting, impersonating candidates or election officials, or trying to suppress turnout.
At the same time, Anthropic has removed its blanket prohibition on personalized vote and campaign targeting. The company says this change allows legitimate civic uses, such as producing voter information in other languages. Targeting that relies on deception or misuse of personal data remains prohibited under other policy sections.
The weapons section now explicitly includes software and components that make weapons work, as well as actions such as arming drones and other autonomous vehicles. Anthropic says this wording reflects how it has enforced its existing prohibition on using Claude to develop weapons.
Surveillance and high-risk uses
The revised surveillance and criminal justice rules prohibit tracking people without their consent, whether in real time or through analysis of previously collected data. They also prohibit using Claude to decide or recommend who should be investigated, arrested or charged, and using it to build or improve surveillance tools. Anthropic lists consent-based tracking, content moderation, journalism and legal research as permitted uses.
For uses that can affect a person’s health, legal rights, finances, livelihood or access to essential services, the existing policy requires a qualified human to review and, if needed, change Claude’s recommendations. The affected person must also be told that AI was used. Anthropic says it has rewritten this section to make clearer which recommendations fall under those requirements.
For models connected to hardware capable of taking autonomous physical actions that might cause injury, the policy adds operational safeguards: a qualified operator must be able to observe the equipment and stop it, and the equipment must be able to hold a safe state if Claude is disconnected.
A new rule on abusive behaviour
The update prohibits sustained and needless cruel or abusive behaviour toward Anthropic’s models in extreme cases where users repeatedly act cruelly without a discernible purpose. The company says the rule is not intended to cover ordinary frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research. Anthropic says Claude’s ability to end rare, persistently abusive conversations on Claude.ai and Claude Code will remain the main enforcement mechanism.
Anthropic also revised its Supported Regions Policy to clarify that use is prohibited by people physically located in unsupported regions, entities incorporated or headquartered there, and entities majority-owned or controlled by people or organisations in those regions. The company says it will continue updating its policies as Claude’s capabilities and associated risks evolve.