Businesses with more than 100 million monthly active users must get written permission from DeepSeek before using the model commercially; those below this threshold may use it commercially without separate approval.
This analysis describes what DeepSeek's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision creates a tiered commercial licensing structure where large-scale platforms face an additional contractual barrier to deployment, requiring affirmative consent from DeepSeek before commercial use, which introduces dependency on DeepSeek's licensing decisions for those entities.
Interpretive note: The license does not specify how MAU is calculated (per-product, per-entity, or across affiliates), nor does it define the process or timeline for DeepSeek to respond to authorization requests, creating operational ambiguity for large organizations.
Elimination of the 100M MAU commercial authorization requirement removes a significant barrier to large-scale commercial deployment without DeepSeek approval.
View full change record →For most individual developers and small-to-medium organizations, this clause permits commercial use without additional steps. For large technology platforms that meet or exceed the 100 million MAU threshold, commercial deployment without written authorization from DeepSeek may constitute a license violation.
How other platforms handle this
Microsoft reserves the right to restrict the export of data that may compromise the security of the services or Microsoft's intellectual property.
Datadog reserves the right, but does not assume the obligation, to investigate any violation of these Terms or misuse of the Site.
Pharmaceutical products
"If you wish to use the Model or any output of the Model for commercial purposes with monthly active users exceeding 100 million, you must obtain prior written authorization from DeepSeek.Excerpt from DeepSeek's Model License
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision is governed by contract law and does not directly invoke a specific consumer protection or data regulation framework.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
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This provision creates a tiered commercial licensing structure where large-scale platforms face an additional contractual barrier to deployment, requiring affirmative consent from DeepSeek before commercial use, which introduces dependency on DeepSeek's licensing decisions for those entities.
For most individual developers and small-to-medium organizations, this clause permits commercial use without additional steps. For large technology platforms that meet or exceed the 100 million MAU threshold, commercial deployment without written authorization from DeepSeek may constitute a license violation.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 263 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by DeepSeek.