Anthropic bans ‘abusive or cruel behavior’ towards Claude

<figure> <img alt="Machine brain." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Getty Images, The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/STKS522_AGI_D.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Anthropic is making changes to its usage policy for the first time in over a year to reflect new and high-risk cases of misuse - including election interference, weapons development, surveillance, and health and financial uses. But one of the most significant changes prohibits "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" toward Claude. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Last August, the company <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/research/end-subset-conversations">announced</a> it would allow Claude to end conversations with "persistently harmful or abusive" users as part of its research into "model welfare." The new update says that terminating conversations is still the "primary enforcement mechanism"; Anthropic did not provide a comment o …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1008100/anthropic-new-usage-policy-abuse-claude">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>