DeepSeek Issues Formal Rebuttal to Distillation Allegations
Narrative
DeepSeek published a formal rebuttal denying large-scale model distillation and released anonymized usage logs asserting the activity was authorized academic benchmarking.
Reality
The statement rejects claims of unauthorized model extraction and signals potential legal escalation. No independent audit findings were included at publication.
Implication
Model distillation disputes are moving from technical enforcement to formal legal positioning, increasing regulatory exposure and cross-border friction in the AI supply chain.