US lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation that would prohibit Chinese AI company’s chatbot, named, DeepSeek, on government devices, responding to escalating national security concerns about potential data collection risks. The proposed bill, crafted by bipartisan representatives Darin LaHood (Republican) and Josh Gottheimer (Democratic), aims to prevent what lawmakers see as a potential information security threat.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the legislative move is driven by similar national security considerations that led to the ban of TikTok last year. “This should be a no-brainer in terms of actions we should take immediately to prevent our enemy from getting information from our government,” Gottheimer emphasized.
Despite the mounting challenges, DeepSeek continues to gain popularity. The app’s rapid rise has been remarkable, becoming the most downloaded app in America and boasting an open-source model that has been widely embraced by consumers and businesses. However, its Chinese origins have triggered scrutiny, with US government agencies like the Navy and NASA already restricting its use.
Asides Navy and NASA, Texas became the first US state to block the AI application on government devices, with Governor Greg Abbott stating, “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps.”
Cybersecurity experts have raised significant concerns about the app’s data practices. Ivan Tsarynny, CEO of Feroot Security, as quoted in the WSJ, suggests that DeepSeek has intentionally hidden code that could transmit user login information to China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company prohibited from operating in the US.
