A proposed US bill seeks to ban the Chinese AI app DeepSeek on government devices due to security risks.
A new bill introduced in the US House of Representatives aims to prevent the use of the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek on all government devices, according to the Wall Street Journal. This follows DeepSeek’s rapid rise to become the most downloaded app in the US.
Cybersecurity experts have flagged concerns about hidden code within DeepSeek allegedly enabling the transmission of user data to China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company banned in the US. The US government alleges this allows the Chinese government access to sensitive information. China denies these claims, calling them politically motivated and asserting that it doesn’t compel data collection.
DeepSeek itself has not publicly responded to these accusations. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D) called the proposed ban an obvious measure to prevent information leaks, a sentiment echoed by Representative Darin LaHood (R), who stated that sensitive government data cannot be accessed by a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entity.
This action mirrors the 2022 ban on TikTok on government devices, also due to data security concerns. The Chinese government consistently rejects US accusations against TikTok. TikTok has denied posing a national security threat, implementing measures such as Project Texas to store US user data domestically and offering a government-controlled “kill switch”. Facing potential divestment or a ban, TikTok has filed a lawsuit, claiming the legislation is unconstitutional.
Several other countries—including Australia, South Korea, and Italy—have also banned or restricted DeepSeek on government systems due to similar security fears. In the US, the Navy and NASA have also blocked the app.
Developed by Hangzhou-based DeepSeek Inc., the DeepSeek AI assistant surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT in popularity on Apple’s App Store since its January launch. Unlike the subscription-based ChatGPT, DeepSeek-R1 is free. This success has negatively impacted major US tech companies like Nvidia, as DeepSeek’s V3 and R1 models compete directly with OpenAI’s GPT-4 and o1 models.
DeepSeek’s achievements directly challenge previous US administration efforts to limit China’s access to advanced chips from the US and the Netherlands.