Reports suggest that some US officials are considering banning the use of Chinese Open Weights models by US companies. In response, many tech companies have signed a letter supporting Open Weights models, and some people have even accused Anthropic of wanting to ban Open Weights models as a means of protecting our business. It is true that many of the companies carrying out these operations release Open Weights models—but the open weights are far less relevant than the fact that the operations are backed by an authoritarian state seeking to overtake the US at the frontier. It is true that many of the companies carrying out these operations release Open Weights models—but the open weights are far less relevant than the fact that the operations are backed by an authoritarian state seeking to overtake the US at the frontier. To summarise my and Anthropic’s position, we have not and are not advocating for a ban on Open Weights models as a category.