claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Claude Code claiming false Usage Policy violation when scanning emails [2 comments, 2 participants]

API Error: Claude Code is unable to respond to this request, which appears to violate our Usage Policy (https://www.anthropic.com/legal/aup). Please double press esc to edit your last message or start a new session for Claude Code to assist with a different task. If you are seeing this refusal repeatedly, try running /model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 to switch models.

TL;DR

The issue may be resolved by modifying Claude Code to better handle specific content in HARO emails that is misinterpreted as instructions.

Guidance

• Review the content of HARO emails to identify potential "poison pills" that may be causing Claude to misinterpret instructions.
• Consider implementing a content filtering or sanitization mechanism to prevent Claude from processing malicious or malformed content.
• Test the /model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 switch as suggested in the error message to see if it resolves the issue.
• Investigate the Usage Policy (https://www.anthropic.com/legal/aup) to understand what specific violations are being triggered by the content in HARO emails.

Notes

The issue seems to be related to the specific content in HARO emails, and modifying the content handling mechanism in Claude Code may resolve the issue. However, without more information about the content of the emails and the specific violations being triggered, it is difficult to provide a more detailed solution.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Implement a content filtering or sanitization mechanism to prevent Claude from processing malicious or malformed content, as this may help to resolve the issue without requiring a full fix.