There is no DeepSeek lawsuit on file as of mid-2026. OpenAI has publicly accused the Chinese company of stealing its model outputs and has pressed those accusations with U.S. lawmakers, but it has not sued. What DeepSeek actually faces is a different mix: a Texas attorney general investigation, a data ban in Italy and open inquiries in France and Ireland, a U.S. Commerce Department probe tied to a criminal chip-smuggling prosecution in Singapore, and bans on government devices across more than a dozen U.S. states and several countries.
OpenAI’s Accusations, Without a Complaint
OpenAI’s public case against DeepSeek is that the company used “distillation” — querying ChatGPT en masse and using the responses to train a competing model. OpenAI’s terms of service prohibit exactly that use of its outputs.1OpenAI. Row Terms of Use
In late January 2025, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company was “aware of and reviewing indications that DeepSeek may have inappropriately distilled our models.”2Axios. OpenAI DeepSeek AI Models Data Training Microsoft, which partners with OpenAI, ran its own investigation. Late in 2024, Microsoft security researchers reportedly detected unusual data exfiltration patterns through OpenAI developer API accounts they linked to DeepSeek, describing a pattern of “systematically querying OpenAI’s models via their developer API, collecting large volumes of outputs to serve as training data for R1.”3American Reinvestment Institute. Explainer: DeepSeek, Distillation, and AI IP Theft
On February 12, 2026, OpenAI submitted a memo to the U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. The memo accused DeepSeek and other Chinese companies of running “sophisticated, multi-stage pipelines” that used fraudulent accounts, mass queries, and synthetic data to copy American AI capabilities.4Bloomberg. OpenAI Accuses DeepSeek of Distilling US Models to Gain an Edge OpenAI said it had detected accounts linked to DeepSeek employees using “obfuscated third-party routers” and unauthorized resellers to get around its access restrictions.5Rest of World. OpenAI DeepSeek Distillation Dispute The memo also alleged that DeepSeek had tried to override ChatGPT safety features related to chemical and biological weapons.6Foundation for Defense of Democracies. OpenAI Alleges China’s DeepSeek Stole Its Intellectual Property
The Select Committee had already concluded in a 2025 report that it was “highly likely” DeepSeek used unlawful distillation to create R1.7U.S. House of Representatives. Testimony Before House Select Committee
DeepSeek has not issued a formal public response. When users asked its chatbot how it was created, it reportedly gave vague acknowledgments that “OpenAI played a role” and sometimes pointed users to OpenAI’s own interfaces.8Harvard Law School. DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and the Global Fight for Technological Supremacy
Why No Case Has Been Filed
As of early 2025, OpenAI was reportedly “investigating filing a court case,” but no complaint has been filed in any court since. The legal theory would be untested. No court has decided whether distilling a competitor’s model outputs is trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. OpenAI’s terms of service create a contract theory, but whether breaching those terms turns distillation into “improper means” under trade secret law is an open question.9CEPA. Is DeepSeek a Robber or an Innovator Some observers have argued that OpenAI’s public campaign is partly aimed at influencing U.S. export controls and protecting the competitive position of American AI firms, and have noted that distillation is a common industry practice.5Rest of World. OpenAI DeepSeek Distillation Dispute
Texas Attorney General Investigation
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into DeepSeek in February 2025, alleging that the platform violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. His office had already banned DeepSeek from its own devices on January 28, 2025.10Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Announces Investigation Into DeepSeek Paxton issued civil investigative demands to Google and Apple requiring them to hand over their own analyses of the DeepSeek app and any documentation the company submitted before the app was listed. He called DeepSeek “no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens.”11The Hill. Texas Attorney General DeepSeek Investigation
The investigation is grounded in a specific concern: DeepSeek’s privacy policy states that it “directly collects, processes and stores your Personal Data in People’s Republic of China.”12DeepSeek. DeepSeek Privacy Policy That data sits on Chinese servers and is therefore subject to Chinese national security laws that can require handing user data to the government on request. The app collects chat and search history, device data, keystroke patterns, IP addresses, and activity from other apps.13NPR. DeepSeek Data Safety
European Privacy Orders
Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, moved first. On January 30, 2025, it imposed a “definitive limitation” on the processing of Italian users’ personal data, barring DeepSeek from collecting, processing, or storing data from Italian users until concerns were resolved. DeepSeek argued it did not operate in Italy, was not subject to GDPR, and had already pulled the app from app stores. The Garante rejected that response as “insufficient and inadequate” and found DeepSeek was “unquestionably” offering services to Italian users and therefore subject to GDPR.14Bird & Bird. The Garante Imposes a Definitive Limitation on the Processing of Italian Users’ Personal Data
France’s CNIL and Ireland’s Data Protection Commission also opened investigations.13NPR. DeepSeek Data Safety
The Singapore Chip-Smuggling Prosecution
The only active criminal case tied to DeepSeek’s supply chain is in Singapore, not against DeepSeek itself. The U.S. House Select Committee on China reported that DeepSeek holds roughly 60,000 Nvidia chips, including 10,000 A100s, 30,000 H20s, 10,000 H800s, and 10,000 H100s — many restricted from export to China. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security opened an investigation into whether the chips reached DeepSeek through transshipment via Singapore.15House Select Committee on the CCP. DeepSeek Report
In February 2025, Singaporean authorities arrested and charged three men said to be part of the alleged network: Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41, a Singaporean; Alan Wei Zhaolun, 48 to 49, a Singaporean; and Li Ming, 51, a Chinese national. Court documents allege Woon and Wei made false declarations to Super Micro Computer and Dell Technologies that servers containing restricted Nvidia chips would not be sent to unauthorized recipients; the servers were instead shipped to Malaysia and potentially onward. The total value of the alleged fraud has been estimated at over $390 million. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case had its initial court appearance on March 13, 2025, with bail set between S$600,000 and S$1 million.16Asia Times. DeepSeek Gets Nvidia’s High-End GPUs via Singapore17TAXI Southeast Asia. Nvidia Chips Prosecution
Government-Device Bans
More than a dozen U.S. states have banned DeepSeek on government networks and devices, including Texas, New York, Virginia, Iowa, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Kansas.18StateTech Magazine. These States Have Banned DeepSeek At the federal level, NASA blocked the app, the Navy warned members not to use it, and the House of Representatives flagged the service as unauthorized on its networks.19Al Jazeera. Which Countries Have Banned DeepSeek and Why
Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood urged all 50 governors to ban the app, and a coalition of 21 state attorneys general pushed Congress to pass the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act (H.R. 1121).18StateTech Magazine. These States Have Banned DeepSeek Australia banned it across all government agencies, Taiwan blocked government departments from using it, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade barred employees from installing it, and Italy’s data protection order effectively removed it from app stores in that country.19Al Jazeera. Which Countries Have Banned DeepSeek and Why None of these bans is a lawsuit; they are administrative restrictions that limit where the app can be installed, not court proceedings that could impose damages.
The January 2025 Database Exposure
Anyone who used DeepSeek in its first weeks of viral growth should know about a separate incident. In January 2025, cybersecurity firm Wiz found a publicly accessible, unauthenticated ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek. It held more than one million log entries, including user chat histories, API secrets, backend operational details, and sensitive metadata. Anyone who found it could have run arbitrary queries and potentially pulled plaintext passwords or local files.20Wiz. Wiz Research Uncovers Exposed DeepSeek Database Leak DeepSeek secured the database within an hour after Wiz disclosed it.21CSO Online. DeepSeek Leaks One Million Sensitive Records in a Major Data Breach Around the same period, DeepSeek restricted new sign-ups, citing “malicious attacks” on its service.22Theori. DeepSeek Security, Privacy and Governance: Hidden Risks in Open Source AI No consumer class action tied to that exposure appears in the record.
Where Things Stand
As of mid-2026, the pieces remain separate and unresolved. OpenAI has not sued. The Texas investigation, the Italian data ban, the French and Irish inquiries, and the Singapore criminal prosecution all continue. The government-device bans stay in place. If a DeepSeek lawsuit does come, it will most likely arrive from one of two directions first: a state attorney general enforcement action under a data privacy statute, or a Commerce Department enforcement action tied to the chip investigation. The trade secret theory OpenAI has been building in public would break new legal ground, and no court has yet been asked to decide it.