- US lawmakers push to ban Chinese AI app DeepSeek from government devices over security concerns
- South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and India follow suit, citing data privacy risks
What happened: US moves to ban DeepSeek over national security concerns
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act, aiming to prohibit the use of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek on all US government devices. Representative Josh Gottheimer, one of the bill’s sponsors, has accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of using DeepSeek to collect sensitive data from American users.
“This is a five-alarm national security fire,” Gottheimer warned. “We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials.” Co-sponsor Darin LaHood echoed the sentiment, stating that DeepSeek’s AI platform “acquires the data of US users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP.”
The legislative push follows a report claiming that DeepSeek’s code may allow user login data to be sent to China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company. While the claim is speculative, it has heightened concerns over data privacy and national security.
Several US allies in the Asia-Pacific region—South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and India—have already banned DeepSeek from government devices, citing similar concerns.
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Why it is important
The move against DeepSeek follows the same logic that led to the bans on TikTok, Huawei, and other Chinese tech firms. The US government has long feared that Chinese companies could be leveraged for espionage or data collection by Beijing.
Critics, however, argue that such bans are selective and inconsistent. If national security concerns justify banning DeepSeek, then why are other Chinese-owned apps still permitted in the US? A Newsweek report recently highlighted China’s dominance in US app stores, raising questions about the effectiveness of a piecemeal approach.
China, for its part, has faced similar criticism for restricting foreign tech companies, leading some to argue that these bans are part of an escalating digital cold war. Regardless, the DeepSeek ban signals that the US and its allies remain committed to restricting Chinese tech over security fears.
