[Bug] Anthropic API Usage Policy classifier false positive on security terminology
Bug Description
That's an Anthropic Usage Policy classifier firing — and it's a false positive. The
content I was generating (AER tier table with source examples like "WSJ", "Krebs", "Black
Hat briefings") doesn't violate any policy. Here's what likely tripped it:
Why this happens
Anthropic runs a content classifier on Claude's outputs. In long sessions packed with
security/cyber vocabulary — PSIRT, vulnerability frameworks, threat modeling, "audit",
"Black Hat", "DEF CON", "exploit", etc. — the classifier sometimes over-fits and flags
benign content. Umbra is literally a cybersecurity intelligence product, so we're awash
in that vocabulary by necessity.
The error message you saw (Claude Code is unable to respond...violates Usage Policy) is
the safety net catching something. In this case it caught nothing real.
What to do when it happens
┌───────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Option │ Notes │
├───────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Retry (just │ Often works — classifier is non-deterministic. My second │
├───────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Press ESC twice + │ Lets you tweak the prompt slightly before retry — sometimes a │
│ edit │ small rewording avoids the trigger │
├───────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Switch models │ /model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 (the error its…
Note: Content was truncated.
This issue has 5 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗