Lawmakers are urging an immediate ban on the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek for use on government devices. They are worried about national security, believing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have created a way to access sensitive personal information from Americans through DeepSeek. If the ban is approved, it could take effect within 60 days.
DeepSeek surprised everyone when it launched last month. It is said to compete with OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model but was much cheaper to create.
Its open-source nature allows anyone to download it for free, which has made it extremely popular, becoming the most downloaded app in the US.
As more people began downloading DeepSeek on their phones, new information came out suggesting that it is connected to a Chinese telecom company called China Mobile.
Ivan Tsarynny, the CEO of Feroot, shared an analysis with AP News indicating that DeepSeek has hidden code that sends user login details to China Mobile.
Lawmakers pointed out that China Mobile has already been banned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US.
Tsarynny expressed concern, stating, “It’s shocking that we are unknowingly letting China monitor Americans while we do nothing to stop it,” in his comments to AP News.
His findings led to a bipartisan bill introduced today by US Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.).
The proposed legislation, called the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” aims to tackle what they see as a serious threat to US national security.
Gottheimer stated in a press release, “We have very troubling evidence that DeepSeek is being used to steal sensitive data from US citizens.”
He described the situation as a major national security issue and called for an investigation into DeepSeek’s harmful activities.
Although the full text of the bill isn’t available yet, the release mentioned that Americans are already sharing sensitive information like contracts and financial records with DeepSeek.
Lawmakers warned that if this data falls into the wrong hands, it would be a significant advantage for the CCP, which is recognized as a foreign threat.
Gottheimer emphasized the importance of preventing the CCP from accessing government officials’ devices, stating that it puts national security at risk. He told The Wall Street Journal that passing the law should be an obvious choice given the connection to China Mobile.
Several other countries, including Australia, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan, have either banned or partially restricted DeepSeek on government devices. Additionally, various federal agencies, such as the US Navy and NASA, have quickly moved to limit the use of DeepSeek among their employees.
Texas also became the first state to prohibit DeepSeek on state-issued devices last month, along with other popular Chinese apps like RedNote, which gained traction as a TikTok alternative when TikTok faced temporary shutdowns.
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