The Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley has introduced a new bill that would make it illegal to import or export artificial intelligence products to and from China, meaning someone who knowingly downloads a Chinese developed AI model like the now immensely popular DeepSeek could face up to 20 years in jail, a million dollar fine, or both, should such a law pass.
Kevin Bankston, a senior advisor on AI governance at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told 404 Media it is “a broad attack on the very idea of scientific dialogue and technology exchange with China around AI, with potentially ruinous penalties for AI researchers and users alike and deeply troubling implications for the future of online speech and freedom of scientific inquiry.”