AI Poses Risks, Whether From China or The US: Delhi HC on Petition to Ban DeepSeek

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday described artificial intelligence as a "dangerous tool" regardless of whether it is developed by Chinese or American entities. The court made the remark while hearing a petition seeking a directive for the Centre to block access to DeepSeek, an AI chatbot developed by Chinese firms, across India.

"AI is a dangerous tool in anybody's hand, whether it is Chinese or American, it does not make any difference. It is not that the government is unaware of these things. They are very well aware...," said a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

Government Seeks Time to Respond

The Centre’s counsel acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and requested time to obtain instructions, prompting the court to schedule the next hearing for February 20. The petitioner’s counsel urged the court to issue notices to authorities, arguing that the case involves a direct violation of the right to privacy.

However, Justice Gedela remarked, "You are in the dark web 97 per cent. What are you saying? You are next-generation youngsters. You know about it more than us. You think this data, any data is safe? Are you aware of the dark web? Are you aware that 97 per cent of the iceberg is tilted around? Are you aware of that? So, therefore, they are saying consideration. We are giving them an opportunity, please wait."

Concerns Over Data Privacy

Petitioner Bhavna Sharma, a lawyer, stated that the plea aims to protect citizens' personal data and safeguard government systems from cyber threats and data breaches. It also seeks to uphold the confidentiality of government documents.

According to the plea, vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek application were discovered within a month of its launch on play stores, leading to a large-scale leak of sensitive personal data online, including chat history, back-end data, and log streams.

(With PTI Inputs)