Delhi HC Demands Action Plan on Chinese AI Chatbot DeepSeek
The Delhi High Court has directed the Central government to explain how it plans to address national security and privacy concerns surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot.
Court’s Directive to Centre
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela instructed Central Government Standing Counsel Ishkaran Bhandari to obtain instructions from the relevant ministry and present the government’s official stance.
“You have to take instructions. There is no doubt that this is an issue which needs to be tackled at the initial stage as well. How is the ministry going to tackle this? Please keep it ready,” the Bench remarked, emphasising that potential threats should be addressed proactively rather than retrospectively.
Background of the PIL
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Bhavna Sharma, who contended that platforms like DeepSeek compromise user privacy and data security, while being “detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India.”
The petition seeks judicial directions to the Centre to establish guidelines for restricting or blocking access to such AI tools within India.
Next Steps
The Division Bench has granted the government additional time to prepare its response. The case will be heard alongside other similar matters concerning AI regulation. Notably, the Delhi High Court had issued a comparable directive to the government earlier this year regarding the same issue.
