US Proposes DeepSeek Ban For Federal Devices

A bipartisan bill in the US House of Representatives is seeking to ban Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek from federal devices, in a move following on from a similar ban on TikTok.

The “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act”, proposed by Democrat Josh Gottheimer and Republican Darin LaHood, would ban federal employees from using DeepSeek’s app on government-issued devices.

The bill cites concerns over the possibility that data collected by DeepSeek could be passed to the Chinese government, or that the app could be used to spread China-sponsored misinformation.

‘Infiltration’

“The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” said Gottheimer in a statement.

“We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardising our national security.”

He said that as AI chatbots spread, people are increasingly entering sensitive data into them, including proprietary business information.

He also called for an Congressional investigation into DeepSeek’s surveillance capabilities.

LaHood said the measure would “safeguard Americans’ data” while also ensuring “American leadership in AI”.

“The technology race with the Chinese Communist Party is not one the United States can afford to lose,” he stated.

The bill singles out DeepSeek as well as any other AI application developed by its parent company, hedge fund High-Flyer, with exceptions for national security and research purposes to allow federal employees to analyse the app.

The Biden administration similarly banned TikTok from federal devices in 2023, a move also undertaken by numerous government bodies around the world, including the UK Parliament and the European Commission.

TikTok is now facing a more complete ban in the US, although incoming president Donald Trump has delayed the measure.

China competition

DeepSeek rose to popularity in late January after saying its AI models perform on a similar level to competitors while requiring a fraction of the development costs.

The surprise development has rewritten expectations around China’s tech competition with the US, shaving half a trillion dollars from Nvidia’s market value and spurring interest in Chinese tech stocks.

The start-up is a demonstration of how Chinese companies are innovating to get around trade restrictions that bar them from accessing high-end equipment such as the latest AI accelerator chips, analysts told a US government advisory panel last week.

Italy suspended DeepSeek in the country over data privacy concerns, while Taiwan, South Korea and Australia have barred some or all government departments from using the app.

Texas governor Greg Abbott banned both DeepSeek and social media app RedNote, a TikTok alternative, from government devices.