Anthropic bans 'abusive or cruel behavior' toward Claude in policy update

Anthropic updated its usage policy for the first time in over a year, banning "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" toward Claude along with propaganda, surveillance, and weapons development. The cruelty ban applies only to extreme cases, with ending conversations as the primary enforcement mechanism.

• Cruelty ban toward Claude applies only in extreme cases, no user bans announced
• Weapons ban expanded to software and components, arming drones and autonomous vehicles
• Surveillance without consent prohibited, including choosing who to arrest or charge
• Autonomous hardware requires an operator able to observe and stop the equipment