Delhi HC Seeks Centre's Response On PIL Seeking To Ban Chinese AI Tool Deepseek

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre's response to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the operations of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek in India over alleged data privacy violations.

A division bench comprising chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Centre's counsel to seek instructions and listed the matter for further hearing on 20 February.

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“AI is a dangerous tool in anybody's hands, whether it is Chinese or American; doesn't make a difference. It is not that the government is unaware of these things, they are very well aware,” Gedela remarked, acknowledging the broader risks posed by AI.

Allegations against DeepSeek

The petition, filed by Bhavna Sharma, raises concerns over DeepSeek , an AI chatbot developed by two Chinese firms, alleging that it operates in India without complying with the country's data protection laws.

The plea contends that DeepSeek is freely accessible in India via mobile app stores, despite failing to meet key provisions of the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

It further alleges that DeepSeek's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy do not adequately safeguard Indian users' rights, lacking proper data security, user consent mechanisms, and grievance redressal processes.

Read this | Parmy Olson: The DeepSeek AI revolution has a security problem

“The primary concern lies around the inappropriate and unlawful operations of DeepSeek... Its privacy policies fail to protect Indian citizens' right to privacy and are non-compliant with key IT regulations,” the petition states.

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