Claude and the secret tracker: an unexpected twist
Anthropic, known for its anti-surveillance stance, was surprised to be accused of monitoring Claude users in China. It all began when a web developer, known as "Thereallo", discovered hidden code in the Claude Code. This code, which was not malicious, discreetly sent information to Anthropic, such as time zone and possible connections to Chinese AI labs. The goal? To prevent account abuses by unauthorized resellers and protect against distillation attacks. But, this was seen as a serious breach of user trust.
Anthropic's reaction and the impact of the discovery
Thariq Shihipar, an engineer at Anthropic, confirmed that the tracker was added as an "experiment" in March. According to him, the intention was to protect the company from unauthorized resellers selling access to free models at ridiculous prices. Anthropic had already planned to remove the code, as new mitigation measures had been implemented. However, the explanation did not please privacy advocates. After all, Anthropic had already refused to allow the U.S. government to use Claude for surveillance, even suing the White House over it.
The situation became even more complicated when The Washington Post suggested that the tracker incident is a sign that American companies are adopting more aggressive measures to prevent Chinese companies from copying their models. The fear is that China will continue to quickly match the capabilities of American models, which could threaten U.S. leadership in AI.
Alibaba's response and the surveillance landscape
Amid the controversy, Alibaba decided to prohibit its employees from using Claude Code. The company cited concerns about the tracker as the reason for the ban, classifying Claude Code as high-risk software. For Alibaba, ignoring Anthropic's determination to detect users linked to Chinese AI labs is risky. While individual users can easily bypass location blocks, Alibaba could face legal and compliance risks.
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