The US National Archives removed an Alibaba Qwen AI model from the Federal Register website following public scrutiny. The tool was used to search public comments on proposed regulations. Screenshots confirmed the feature was active on September 15, but source code analysis shows it was disabled by Wednesday.
The FBI recently identified Alibaba among six Chinese firms accused of industrial-scale distillation of US AI models. US Representative John Moolenaar stated that federal entities should not utilize Chinese AI technology, citing concerns over national security and government dependency.
Experts noted that the deployed Qwen3 0.6B model is an open-weight, small-scale tool used locally for document retrieval. It does not process sensitive information or transmit data to third parties. Some analysts suggest that current US export controls focus on advanced semiconductors rather than small-model deployment.
The incident highlights a broader debate regarding US AI policy. Research submitted to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission suggests that the US may be at a disadvantage due to a lack of a robust open-source ecosystem, while China has actively developed such capabilities.
