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US government website used Chinese model the FBI called "malicious"

First reported Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:28:50 GMT · Last updated

Archived story. Not updated since 2026-09-19 13:23 UTC. Newsei is updated manually, so events may have moved on — check the original reporting below.
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US government website used Chinese model the FBI called "malicious"
Ars Technica · published 2026-09-18 17:28 UTC
US government website used Chinese model the FBI called "malicious"
Lead image via Ars Technica

On Wednesday, US government officials removed a Chinese AI search tool that was briefly deployed on the Federal Register website, Reuters reported . The change came after social media users noticed an apparent contradiction: The National Archives was using one of Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, even as top US law enforcement claimed that such models illegally copy US frontier models. Earlier this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named Alibaba among six leading Chinese firms allegedly conducting “industrial-scale distillation” that the agency says is helping America’s biggest competitor cut costs and development time in the race for global AI leadership. It’s unclear when exactly the National Archives, which runs the Federal Register website, began offering visitors the option to use a Qwen model to search public comments on proposed regulations. So far, the independent agency tasked with increasing public access to federal government documents has not commented on the removal and did not respond to Ars’ request for comment. The White House and the FBI have also not commented. Read full article Comments ]]>

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  • Ars Technica
    US government website used Chinese model the FBI called "malicious"

    On Wednesday, US government officials removed a Chinese AI search tool that was briefly deployed on the Federal Register website, Reuters reported . The change came after social media users noticed an apparent contradiction: The National Archives was using one of Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, even as top US law enforcement claimed that such models illegally copy US frontier models. Earlier this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named Alibaba among six leading Chinese firms allegedly conducting “industrial-scale distillation” that the agency says is helping America’s biggest competitor cut costs and development time in the race for global AI leadership. It’s unclear when exactly the National Archives, which runs the Federal Register website, began offering visitors the option to use a Qwen model to search public comments on proposed regulations. So far, the independent agency tasked with increasing public access to federal government documents has not commented on the removal and did not respond to Ars’ request for comment. The White House and the FBI have also not commented. Read full article Comments ]]>

    Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:28:50 GMT

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  1. 2026-09-18 17:28Ars Technica — US government website used Chinese model the FBI called "malicious"

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