Podcast

June 16, 2026

What the Anthropic shutdown means for Europe

The move is the first example of the US activating a so-called digital “kill switch"

Late last week, the European tech ecosystem got a glimpse of a future many had worried about. 

US AI giant Anthropic announced it had been ordered by the US government to suspend access to its most advanced AI models for foreign nationals. In response, Anthropic cut access to all customers, including those in the US, to ensure compliance. 

The move is the first example of the US activating a so-called digital “kill switch” with the potential to disrupt or turn off access to technologies that European organisations heavily depend on to run critical services. 

The restrictions may prove temporary but they’ve caused a big reaction in Europe.

On this week’s episode of the Sifted podcast, host Freya Pratty chats to senior reporter Daphné Leprince-Ringuet about what happened, why it matters and what Europe should do next.

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Read our reporting on the ban here.

Maya Dharampal-Hornby

Maya Dharampal-Hornby is a reporter, covering UK tech for Sifted, based in London. She's also the producer of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast .

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