Anthropic updates its Supported Regions Policy, effective November 12, clarifying three categories of prohibited Claude use
According to Anthropic’s official website page “Supported Regions Policy,” the policy will take effect on November 12, 2026. The policy applies to Claude.ai, Claude Code, Cowork and other applications, the official API and developer platform, as well as Claude models provided through cloud platforms and authorized resellers.
The policy makes clear that use is not supported in any country or region not included on the support list. This includes three situations: first, use while a person is in a non-supported region, including users and personnel of entities that are otherwise supported; second, use by entities registered or headquartered in a non-supported region and their users or personnel, regardless of where these people are located; and third, use by entities directly or indirectly majority-owned or controlled by individuals or entities from a non-supported region, and their users or personnel, regardless of where these people are located.
Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and others are not included on the support list. In an announcement on its October 2026 update to its usage policies, Anthropic said the update was intended to clarify how the existing policy is enforced. The company said it updated the policy last year to restrict the use of Claude by companies majority-owned by entities headquartered in non-supported regions.
Original source:
Title: Supported Regions Policy Publisher: Anthropic Publication date: Effective date November 12, 2026 (as noted on the page) URL: https://www.anthropic.com/legal/supported-regions Nature of source: Official company policy document Verification status: The page content was actually read for this report; verification date November 11, 2026; no access restrictions Supported content: the effective date, the full wording of the three prohibited situations (physical location, entity registration location/headquarters, direct or indirect majority ownership or control), scope covered (applications, API, cloud platforms and authorized resellers), and the support-region whitelist approach
ABAB AI Insight
This update mainly makes the existing restrictions more explicit rather than introducing a brand-new ban from scratch. Anthropic already imposed restrictions in 2025 on overseas companies majority-owned by entities in non-supported regions. This update lists personal location, corporate registration location, and control relationships side by side, and emphasizes that it applies regardless of where employees are located.
The policy covers situations where Claude is accessed through cloud platforms such as AWS Bedrock, meaning that using an official cloud channel alone does not automatically exempt an entity from region and control-relationship review. Enforcement still depends on the company’s mechanisms for identifying accounts, payments, IP addresses, and corporate affiliation.
For companies registered in supported regions but actually controlled by entities from non-supported regions, or for employees using the service while traveling to non-supported regions, restrictions may be triggered. The specific determination standards and enforcement strength will depend on Anthropic’s subsequent operations and appeal results.
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The policy uses a whitelist approach; regions not on the list are not supported. Taiwan is on the list, while Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau are not.
“Majority-owned or controlled” includes both direct and indirect means, and is not limited to a single path of ownership above 50%; how it is determined specifically is up to the company’s enforcement.
November 12 is the effective date of the new policy text, not the first introduction of regional restrictions; restrictions on personal location and corporate control relationships already existed previously.