Technology and Science17 September, 20262 min read
US Federal Register Removed Alibaba Qwen AI Search Tool After Social Media Backlash
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Federal Register briefly used Alibaba Qwen AI model for search on proposed rules FBI accused Alibaba of maliciously copying Anthropic tech
Qwen Removed After Backlash
On Wednesday, US government officials removed a Chinese AI search tool that had been briefly deployed on the Federal Register website, Reuters reported, after social media users noticed a contradiction involving Alibaba’s Qwen model. The Federal Register, run by the National Archives, had offered visitors the option to use a Qwen model to search public comments on proposed regulations, and an archived version of the site’s source code confirmed the Qwen model was taken down on Wednesday.
Ars Technica said the Qwen option was displayed on the government website on September 15, and that the service was available for at least a day. Ars Technica also reported that it was unclear when exactly the National Archives began offering the Qwen option, and that the independent agency tasked with increasing public access to federal government documents had not commented on the removal.
FBI Accusations and Officials
The removal followed the FBI’s earlier claim that Alibaba is among six leading Chinese firms allegedly conducting “industrial-scale distillation,” which the agency says helps America’s biggest competitor cut costs and development time in the race for global AI leadership. Ars Technica quoted Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, telling Reuters that it is an “insane” disconnect for a US agency to use an Alibaba model while the FBI encourages stakeholders to use only American models.
The Straits Times framed the same episode as the Federal Register website employing an AI model from a Chinese company despite the FBI accusing the model’s developer, Alibaba, of “malicious” copying of US rival Anthropic’s technology. The Straits Times also reported that US Representative John Moolenaar said, “No federal government entity should use a Chinese AI model,” and that Democratic Senator Mark Warner said the risk depends on whether US data left the government’s security boundary and was processed on Alibaba-controlled systems.
Security Questions and Policy Stakes
Ars Technica reported that whether the government use of the Qwen model posed a security risk depends on how it was trained, and it also said it matters if any US data was processed by “Alibaba-controlled systems,” as Senator Marker Warner (D-Va.) said. The Straits Times added that AI experts said the use of the Chinese tool on the Federal Register’s website may not have posed national security risks because the Federal Register website’s content is already public.
The Straits Times described the Federal Register as providing a daily list of newly proposed regulations and offering the Qwen model as a tool to browse public comments. In April, the Straits Times reported that the US House committees on China and homeland security sent a letter to Airbnb, which also uses Qwen, asking for details about its use as part of an investigation into the “national security risks created by the integration” of Chinese AI tools into platforms used by Americans.