Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

404media.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 335 posts

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#41

Post by gruez »

pixl97 wrote: post #35
gruez wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's the kid rotting in federal prison for downloading a mp3? Does the music/movie industry not have good enough lobbyists to make an example of a torrenter?

I don't know, you tell me what happend to that Aaron guy that ran Reddit?

Thanks for proving my point. Schwartz was offered 6 months in a minimum security prison, but he declined it because he specifically wanted a trial. Moreover that was for effectively DoSing JSTOR, a much more serious crime than some guy using a vpn to download an AI model. I don't think 6 months was justified, nor the string of crimes he was charged with, but OP's assertion that "You get less jail time for committing 34 felonies" is still false.

>During plea negotiations with Swartz's attorneys, the prosecutors offered to recommend a sentence of six months in a low-security prison if Swartz pled guilty to 13 federal crimes. Swartz and his lead attorney rejected the deal, opting instead for a trial where prosecutors would be forced to justify their pursuit of him.

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#42

Post by [deleted] »

gruez wrote: post #16
9283409232 wrote: post #3

> The Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley has introduced a new bill that would make it illegal to import or export artificial intelligence products to and from China, meaning someone who knowingly downloads a Chinese developed AI model like the now immensely popular DeepSeek could face up to 20 years in jail, a million dollar fine, or both, should such a law pass. You get less jail time for committing 34 fel…

up to 20 years. Realistically some kid downloading a model would get probation, and you'd only get 20 years if you were making an entire enterprise out of it. relevant: https://web.archive.org/web/20130208124604/https://www.popeh...

[deleted]

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#44

Post by dgfitz »

gruez wrote: post #41
pixl97 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, you tell me what happend to that Aaron guy that ran Reddit?

Thanks for proving my point. Schwartz was offered 6 months in a minimum security prison, but he declined it because he specifically wanted a trial. Moreover that was for effectively DoSing JSTOR, a much more serious crime than some guy using a vpn to download an AI model. I don't think 6 months was justified, nor the string of crimes he was charged with, but OP's assertion that "You get less jail time for committing…

Facts need not apply. We’re righteously indignant for goodness sake! Stop with all the nonsense “facts” and “reality” unless they fit the narrative.

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#45

Post by inetknght »

> “Every dollar and gig of data that flows into Chinese AI are dollars and data that will ultimately be used against the United States,” Senator Hawley said in a statement. “America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary at the expense of our own strength. Ensuring American economic superiority means cutting China off from American ingenuity and halting the subsidization of CCP innovation.”

Oh goodness me!. If that's true, then why not just completely block China's IP addresses from our Internet? Why not just block all dollars from entering China?

Oh right, because that's not the truth. It's certainly not the whole of it anyway.

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#46

Post by yardie »

mattmaroon wrote: post #32
dmix wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure it’s even worth speculating on a bill that’s merely been proposed. This one sounds DOA. But yeah TikTok ban was a very bad precedent, mostly because it was based on speculative risks, not hard proof of existing behaviour (TikTok not engaging didn't help at all either). Regardless of the merits I too hope it doesn’t have a ripple effect. National security is such a huge brush you could paint anything you want…

The risk from TikTok is possibly not speculative at all. I think it’s quite likely the national security apparatus knows something and informed congressmen because they went from being opposed to it to being in favor of it in a short time.

Well there’s that and then there is the 2 billionaires with competing social media platforms. Where one is considered a dumpster fire and the other is a retirement home. So why not use that considerable wealth and legislate your competition out of existence.

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#47

Post by schroeding »

I have no idea about the intricacies of US law, but reading the actual proposed bill[1], it seems incredibly broad. Like, "this may make publishing linear algebra papers on faster matrix operations illegal"-broad, as it includes everything which may contribute to AI research.

Also: Preventing the import of "foreign" knowledge / research seems completely insane to me, no offense, no matter how one stands on export. There is nothing justifying this, you're just kneecapping yourself.

[1] https://www.hawley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Haw...

Re: US bill proposes jail time for people who download DeepSeek

#50

Post by 9283409232 »

gruez wrote: post #33
pixl97 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and I know this isn't how this works. The moment the government wants to punish someone over this they will grab some random kid that's barely done anything and threaten them with the full 20 years to serve as an example to others.

Where's the kid rotting in federal prison for downloading a mp3? Does the music/movie industry not have good enough lobbyists to make an example of a torrenter?

Capital Records vs Jamie Thomas where Capital Records was awarded around 2 million in damages and Sony vs Joel Tenenbaum. These cases are not uncommon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Records%2C_Inc._v._Tho...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_v._Tenenbaum

Post reply on HN