Speaking when announcing the bill called the Decouple US AI Capabilities from China Act, Mr. Hawley emphasized: "Every dollar and gigabyte of data flowing into Chinese AI will eventually be used against us. To ensure economic superiority, it is necessary to prevent China from accessing American technology and not subsidizing their innovation."
According to him, the main reason for this bill is DeepSeek - a low-cost AI model that is considered to be competitive with American rivals. He warned that DeepSeek could cause global concerns and reduce the stock value of American technology companies. Therefore, his bill not only aims to ban the import and export of AI technology between the two countries but also prohibits American businesses from investing in Chinese AI.
According to 404Media, one of the key provisions of the bill is that anyone who “knowingly commits, knowingly attempts to commit, or assists in the commission of a violation of the law” could face a fine of up to $1 million and up to 20 years in prison. However, Congressman Hawley’s office has yet to comment on the matter.
Hawley’s proposal is controversial. Kevin Bankston, senior counsel for AI governance at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the bill was an “attack on scientific and technological exchanges with China.” Meanwhile, Kit Walsh, director of the AI Legal Project at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned that the law could hinder AI development in the US.
Mr Walsh also worries that under the previous legal interpretation, simply publishing AI research on the internet could be considered an export. If the law were passed, it could accelerate the dominance of monopolistic AI companies, hindering open research and academic collaboration.
Going beyond AI, Hawley and Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick calling for increased controls on chip exports to China. They see DeepSeek as an example of a loophole in Biden’s control policies, allowing Chinese companies to buy chips from Nvidia for AI training.
In addition to Hawley’s proposal, the US is also taking strong measures against DeepSeek. On January 31, Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested a ban on the app along with several other platforms such as Lemon8, Moomoo, RedNote, Tiger Brokers, and Webull. The ban applies to both personal and government devices, making Texas the first state to ban DeepSeek.
NASA, the Navy and the US House of Representatives have also banned employees from using DeepSeek, citing national security and privacy concerns.
Nvidia, for its part, is concerned that AI chip export controls could leave the Chinese market in the hands of domestic tech companies, with ripple effects globally. CEO Jensen Huang recently met with President Donald Trump, reportedly discussing DeepSeek and the possibility of restricting AI chip sales to Chinese companies.
