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White House limits OpenAI model release

Jun 26, 2026, 7:19am EDT
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 Sam Altman and Trump.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

The White House asked OpenAI to limit the release of its next model to government-approved users, cementing the Trump administration’s shift toward AI interventionism.

It started out laissez-faire on AI, removing Biden-era rules requiring safety reviews of frontier models. But it has rapidly changed direction, getting into a legal tussle with Anthropic over the military’s use of its AI while blocking foreign nationals from accessing the company’s cutting-edge systems, and this month signing an order imposing nominally voluntary reviews of new releases.

The result is an “open-ended and confusing regulatory landscape,” Politico said. Perhaps coincidentally, OpenAI is considering delaying its IPO, The New York Times reported, with executives unnerved by SpaceX’s volatile debut and stock-market choppiness.

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