US Gov to OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Release Limited, Approved Partners Only

The US government has asked OpenAI to limit the release of its new AI model, GPT-5.6. The company can only release it to a small group of partners approved by Washington. This comes shortly after the same administration forced Anthropic to take its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models offline. The White House's Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy made the request. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also involved. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly discussed GPT-5.6 directly with Lutnick. The Commerce chief wanted assurance that relevant government arms had tested and cleared the model. OpenAI agreed to this controlled rollout, even though it wasn't their preferred approach. Federal officials will approve customer access individually during the preview. This differs significantly from Anthropic's situation, where their models were completely shut down. One source indicates GPT-5.6 has "Mythos-like" capability, triggering this extra scrutiny. This shows the government is actively policing how powerful AI systems reach the public.