Key facts
- A consumer lawsuit alleges Anthropic oversold usage allowances for its premium AI subscription plans.
- The suit targets Anthropic's Claude Max subscription tiers, specifically Max 5x and Max 20x.
- Plaintiff Karl Kahn claims he overpaid for subscriptions and received less usage than advertised.
- The lawsuit seeks damages, restitution, injunctive relief, and class certification.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against AI company Anthropic, alleging that the company misled customers regarding the usage allowances included in its premium Claude Max subscription plans. Plaintiff Karl Kahn claims he subscribed to Claude Pro and subsequently upgraded to the Max 5x and Max 20x tiers, overpaying for both and receiving less usage than advertised. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks damages, restitution, injunctive relief, and class certification on behalf of all U.S. residents who purchased these plans between April 9, 2025, and the present.
Kahn's legal representation, Vaca Daffan LLP, stated that companies must be honest in their advertising and marketing, and can be held liable for misrepresentations. The lawsuit highlights a lack of transparency in how Anthropic measures usage, making it difficult for consumers to verify if they are receiving the advertised service. Similar premium subscription models are offered by competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity, often priced between $100 and $200 per month with promises of expanded access and increased usage allowances.
This legal action follows recent criticism of Anthropic's new AI models, Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5, over usage limits and restrictions. The company was also ordered by the U.S. government to suspend access to these models for foreign nationals due to national security concerns.