A search feature powered by a Chinese AI model was briefly available on the Federal Register website, even as US authorities had accused its developer of copying technology from a US AI company.
The Federal Register, operated by the National Archives, offered Alibaba’s Qwen model on Wednesday as 1 of several tools for searching proposed federal regulations and browsing public comments. It was unclear when the feature was added.
The Qwen-powered search option was removed later on Wednesday, around the time social media posts about its use began circulating. Screenshots and an archived version of the website’s source code showed that the tool had been available.
The FBI had accused Alibaba the previous week of “malicious” copying of Anthropic’s AI models to develop its own tools. US officials also said Chinese AI companies were involved in “malicious” copying of US technology on an “industrial scale.” The FBI, National Archives and White House did not comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington called the copying allegations “unfounded.”
The incident comes amid growing global debate over AI safety and discussions in the US about whether stronger AI regulations could affect the country’s competitiveness.
AI experts said using Qwen on the Federal Register may not have created an immediate national security threat. However, it raised questions about the government’s position on Chinese AI technology.
Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, described the situation as a disconnect between US-China competition in AI and the government’s use of a Chinese model.
“It’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Qwen is an open-weight model, meaning key parts of its system are publicly available. Developers can download and modify it for specific applications, often at lower costs than closed models from Anthropic and OpenAI.
“No federal government entity should use a Chinese AI model,” said US Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House China Committee. “Doing so only makes the federal government more dependent on Chinese AI models and that is not in the national interest.”
Security experts noted that open-weight models can run on an organisation’s own infrastructure, offering greater control over sensitive data. Georgetown Law Professor Anupam Chander said Qwen did not appear to create an immediate cybersecurity risk because the Federal Register’s content is already public, though the risk depends on how the model was trained.
Senator Mark Warner said the key concern was whether US data crossed the government’s security boundary and was processed on Alibaba-controlled systems.
In April, US House committees investigating the use of Chinese AI tools also asked Airbnb for details about its use of Qwen and the “national security risks created by the integration” of such tools.
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