“Yes, this is a loophole that allows Chinese companies to access restricted AI technology,” says Pareek Jain, CEO of Pareek Consulting. “The current business model, in which cloud services are sold through resellers and intermediaries, complicates efforts to restrict and monitor end users. In the longer term, as regulations on cloud services tighten, more business is likely to flow through Chinese resellers, shifting the compliance burden from providers like AWS to these intermediaries.”
In response to these concerns, a bill was introduced in Congress in April that would give the Commerce Department the power to regulate remote access to U.S. technology. The department has also proposed new rules that would require cloud services to verify users of large-scale AI models and report to regulators if those models are potentially being used for malicious activity.
According to the report, an AWS spokesperson said, “We are aware that the Department of Commerce is considering new regulations, and we comply with all applicable laws in the countries where we operate.” Amazon continues to offer advanced AI chips and models, such as Anthropique's Claude, through its cloud services, but it faces scrutiny and regulatory challenges. The media outlet claimed that after receiving inquiries, Amazon updated its Chinese-language post to clarify the availability of some services and the removals.
