US to Ban DeepSeek AI? Use Could Mean Fines

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts

US lawmakers are planning to ban the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek. Using DeepSeek could result in fines and jail time. The proposed ban stems from data security concerns and potential information sharing with the Chinese government. Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced the bill. Italy has already banned DeepSeek for privacy reasons.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth

Lawmakers in the US are now planning to ban DeepSeek. Anyone who uses it could face fines and imprisonment. This was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, some US senators are pushing a bill to ban the Chinese AI chatbot from government devices. The bill aims to “prohibit United States persons from advancing artificial intelligence capabilities within the People’s Republic of China.”

Another report by The Independent reveals that, if the bill becomes law, anyone found using DeepSeek could face a fine of up to $1 million, which is approximately Rs 6.5 crores. Violators may also face imprisonment for up to 20 years. The Independent report further suggests that the proposed ban extends beyond just government devices. Businesses found using DeepSeek AI could be fined up to $100 million, which is more than Rs 8 billion.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley reportedly proposed the bill. The reason for the proposed ban is the same as the reason behind TikTok’s ban in the US: concerns about data being sent to the Chinese government. Hawley has raised questions about the “security, privacy, and ethics” offered by the DeepSeek AI app. These concerns are at the heart of the proposed legislation.

Interestingly, the US would not be the first country to ban DeepSeek. Italy has already banned the Chinese AI chatbot, citing privacy reasons. In the US, Texas has already banned DeepSeek. Taiwan has also banned the AI chatbot, and Australia is considering doing so. Meanwhile, the union minister of information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that DeepSeek will soon be hosted on Indian servers to address privacy concerns. This move is aimed at mitigating data security risks.

Experts have raised serious concerns about DeepSeek, particularly regarding data security and potential information transfer to China. These concerns have fueled the push for the ban.

Despite launching in 2023, DeepSeek gained significant attention after releasing its R1 model in January 2025. This model showcased DeepSeek’s capabilities and sparked wider interest in the AI chatbot.

Amid the US-China trade war and restrictions on AI chip exports to China, DeepSeek has emerged as an AI chatbot that performs similarly to ChatGPT but was developed at a lower cost. This has positioned DeepSeek as a potential competitor in the AI market.

DeepSeek AI was founded by Liang Wenfeng in May 2023. Its latest large language models, DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, have garnered significant attention. DeepSeek-V3 is a general-purpose model, while DeepSeek-R1 specializes in reasoning tasks. Both models deliver impressive results while using fewer resources than competitors. DeepSeek also utilizes the Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture, which improves efficiency by activating only a portion of parameters at a time. According to the company, DeepSeek AI chatbot improves with increased human interaction, a feature common in many AI models.

Aakhir Tak – Key Takeaways to Remember

The US may ban DeepSeek AI, potentially imposing hefty fines for its use. This ban stems from concerns about data security and potential data transfer to China. The situation highlights growing concerns about the regulation of AI technology.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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