Two US lawmakers are pushing for a ban on government employees using DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence chatbot on official devices due to national security concerns. Reps. Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, and Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, are set to introduce legislation on Friday that would prohibit the use of DeepSeek on government devices.
DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, is the latest focal point in the ongoing competition for technological dominance between the US and China. This move follows DeepSeek’s recent release of an advanced AI model called R1, which has the same capabilities as leading US models, yet is cheaper to train and requires less energy. Despite being a year-old Chinese company under US export restrictions on powerful AI chips, DeepSeek’s model has raised concerns that the US could fall behind China in the race for AI technology.
If approved, the proposed bill would give government agencies 60 days to create standards and guidelines for removing DeepSeek and any other app developed by its parent company, High Flyer, from official devices. This move follows similar actions taken by Australia, Italy, and Taiwan.
DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.
The bill’s language closely mirrors previous efforts to restrict TikTok in the US due to concerns over its China-based owner, ByteDance, potentially being compelled to share sensitive US user data with the Chinese government. In 2022, federal and state agencies began banning TikTok from official devices, and ByteDance now faces a deadline of fewer than 60 days to sell the app before a ban takes effect in the US, as mandated by a law passed with bipartisan support last year and extended by President Donald Trump in January.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer emphasized in a statement, “The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spread harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans. We cannot risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security … We’ve seen China’s tactics with TikTok, and we cannot let it happen again.”
Many AI companies use data from user interactions with their chatbots to improve their models, raising privacy concerns. However, security experts warn that DeepSeek, due to its Chinese ownership, may pose an even greater risk. Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, cautioned that “users need to be aware that any data shared with the platform could be subject to government access under China’s cybersecurity laws, which require companies to provide access to data when requested by authorities.”