DeepSeek Outage Affects Millions, Sparks User Complaints

A prolonged overnight outage at Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek disrupted service for hundreds of millions of users, sparking widespread complaints across social media platforms. The company’s chatbot website and app were offline, according to a company notice and user feedback.

Credit: DEEPSEEK

The Hangzhou-based AI laboratory began investigating the disruption after its namesake chatbot went offline from Sunday evening. DeepSeek issued fixes between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Service appeared restored by 9:13 a.m., according to a trial use by the South China Morning Post. DeepSeek’s records stated a "fix" had been implemented, and the company continued to monitor the results.

The service outage was marked as "resolved already" in a record updated at 10:33 a.m. Users across China flooded social media platforms with posts complaining about the breakdown.

One user, yezi888, commented on Xiaohongshu, "Only after DeepSeek went down did I realise I no longer knew how to work without it." Xiaohongshu is a lifestyle platform known as RedNote in the US.

As of Feb., DeepSeek had more than 355 million users who relied on its services for various tasks. These included drafting emails, preparing work proposals, and other functions, according to Aicpb.com, an analytical service tracking global AI tools.

The recent outage is not the first large-scale interruption for DeepSeek's online service. In late Jan. last year, the company's R1 reasoning model, released globally for free, faced "large-scale malicious attacks" that overwhelmed its servers.

This latest disruption occurs amid anticipation for the company’s next AI model, DeepSeek V4, which has repeatedly missed expected release timelines. Meanwhile, local rivals such as Zhipu AI, MiniMax AI, and Moonshot AI have gained global acclaim for their own model releases, surpassing DeepSeek.

---

• DeepSeek's chatbot services experienced a prolonged outage affecting hundreds of millions of users.

• The disruption led to widespread user complaints on Chinese social media.

• The company implemented fixes, with services appearing restored by Monday morning.

Source: SCMP

ByteDance Bolsters Seedance 2.0 with Safeguards for Global Rollout

ByteDance has bolstered its controversial video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, with advanced watermarking and intellectual property (IP) protection guardrails. This move precedes its global rollout amidst intense scrutiny from Hollywood studios.

Credit: BYTEDANCE

The international release follows February's viral Seedance-generated videos featuring famous Hollywood actors and characters, leading to allegations of IP theft. ByteDance aims to address these concerns with enhanced safety features.

ByteDance's global safety and intellectual property teams collaborated with a third-party “red-teaming” partner to strengthen Seedance 2.0’s safety features. “Red-teaming” simulates attacks to identify security flaws in new systems.

Seedance 2.0 will become available to users of ByteDance’s artificial intelligence content creation platform CapCut in major markets. These include Europe, Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

New features incorporate C2PA watermarking, allowing ByteDance to identify content created with the model. This enables action against such content, even if shared or altered off-platform.

C2PA, launched in 2021, is an industry standard supported by Microsoft, Google, and Adobe, promoting transparency through digital watermarking. ByteDance first partnered with C2PA in 2024 to automatically label AI-generated content on TikTok.

The company will also implement proactive monitoring for IP violations on the platform. Global CapCut users will be restricted from generating videos using real people’s faces and copyrighted characters.

These restrictions align with measures introduced in the mainland market after Chinese users raised concerns about pornographic deepfakes and privacy infringements. ByteDance stated these safeguards build on existing CapCut protections.

The company said these measures are designed to protect its community, advance AI transparency, and prevent harmful content. The announcement coincided with OpenAI’s halt of its AI video platform, Sora.

ByteDance aims to capitalise on Seedance 2.0, a model perceived to have industry-leading capabilities. CapCut recorded over 12 million downloads worldwide last month, with the United States being its most popular market.

However, Beijing-based ByteDance did not include the United States in the initial list of regions for Seedance 2.0’s release through CapCut. This omission's relation to potential legal action remains unclear.

Major Hollywood studios, including Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, and Netflix, previously sent cease-and-desist letters to ByteDance alleging copyright violation.

The company previously informed media that it would "strengthen safeguards" to prevent the unauthorised use of IP following initial backlash. A technical report for Seedance 2.0 has not yet been released.

---

• ByteDance strengthened Seedance 2.0 with advanced watermarking and IP protection.

• The model will roll out globally via CapCut, excluding the United States.

• New safeguards address Hollywood scrutiny over alleged IP theft.

Source: SCMP

DJI Launches 360-Degree Drone Amid Patent Dispute

DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, has launched its first 360-degree drone, the DJI Avata 360, directly challenging domestic rival Insta360 in a market segment now central to an escalating patent war. This new product marks a significant expansion for the company beyond traditional aerial photography.

Credit: DJI

The Avata 360 features a front-mounted omnidirectional camera capable of capturing high dynamic range (HDR) images at 8K resolution and 60 frames per second. The drone, with prices starting at 4,388 yuan (US$626), has four propellers, giving it a look similar to DJI’s Avata 2.

The Avata 2 is a first-person view drone which was launched in 2024. Official photos show the resemblance.

The launch follows the public revelation that DJI filed a lawsuit against Insta360 with a court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, where both companies are based. The legal complaint cites six patents covering critical technologies, including drone flight control, structural design, and image processing.

Insta360 founder and Chief Executive Officer Liu Jingkang responded, stating that an internal review of the patents indicated, "the available evidence indicates that these are all ideas and innovations generated within Insta360."

Credit: DJI

The Avata 360 is set to become the world’s second drone of its type. The first was the A1 full-view drone from Insta360-backed brand Antigravity, which was released last year.

The A1, with a recommended price of US$1,599, is currently on sale with a 20 per cent discount under a limited-time offer that ends on April 16. The two organisations have been expanding into each other’s market segments.

The A1 drone was viewed as Insta360’s challenge to DJI’s dominance in consumer drones. Conversely, DJI has launched several cameras that challenge Insta360, an organisation best known for its omnidirectional cameras.

Last July, DJI released the Osmo 360, its first entry in the 360-degree imaging market. Two months later, it rolled out the Osmo Nano, a small camera widely compared to Insta360’s Go Ultra.

Mr. Liu stated on the microblogging site Weibo that the Osmo 360 and Osmo Nano resembled his company’s own products. He suggested this could have justified legal action on 11 patents covering hardware and structural features.

However, Mr. Liu noted Insta360 did not take legal action because, "as a smaller company with limited resources, [we] prioritise R&D over litigation."

---

• DJI launched the Avata 360, its first 360-degree drone, directly challenging Insta360.

• The Avata 360 features an 8K resolution, 60 frames per second omnidirectional camera; prices begin at 4,388 yuan (US$626).

• DJI has filed a lawsuit against Insta360 in Shenzhen, alleging infringement on six patents related to drone technology.

Source: SCMP