US Government Reportedly Lifts Restrictions on OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Model

The US government has reportedly cleared restrictions on OpenAI, allowing it to release its advanced GPT-5.6 artificial intelligence model after previously asking the company to limit access during its initial rollout.

According to a report by Axios, the US Department of Commerce has given OpenAI approval for a wider launch of GPT-5.6 following additional testing and meetings between company officials and government representatives.

The decision comes weeks after the Trump administration asked OpenAI to release the model in stages, limiting early access to government-approved organizations.

At the time, OpenAI said a staggered rollout was "not its preferred way" to introduce new AI models.

The US Department of Commerce had earlier restricted access to Anthropic's Fable and Mythos AI models for foreign nationals, effectively forcing the company to withdraw them from the market.

The restriction on Fable was lifted last week, and customer access was restored a day later.

OpenAI to launch GPT-5.6 widely this week

According to the Axios report, OpenAI is expected to make GPT-5.6 widely available this week.

It said that the approval followed testing by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, which is part of the US Department of Commerce.

OpenAI also sent technical experts to Washington, DC, to answer questions during the evaluation process, according to Axios.

The company had previously said that AI firms and the US government are operating before formal standards for releasing advanced AI models have been finalized.

AI releases face growing government oversight

The GPT-5.6 decision comes as the US government increases oversight of advanced AI systems.

Last month, the Trump administration asked OpenAI to release GPT-5.6 in phases instead of making it immediately available to all users.

The AI company then said that the staggered rollout was "not its preferred way" to release new models.