Bipartisan Legislation Seeks to Prohibit DeepSeek AI on U.S. Government Devices

February 7, 2025 TruthUSA

Significant security issues related to DeepSeek revolve around its censorship policies, potential copyright violations, and adherence to Chinese laws and regulations.

A bipartisan group of congress members are set to propose legislation banning the utilization of China’s DeepSeek AI on devices issued by the government.

Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) plan to unveil the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” on February 6.

Both representatives, who serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, believe the bill will prevent Americans from inadvertently disclosing sensitive proprietary information to DeepSeek, which is at risk of being stored on servers in China and accessed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“The Chinese Communist Party has made it clear that it will exploit every available tool to threaten our national security, disseminate harmful misinformation, and gather data on American citizens,” Gottheimer stated in a prepared statement.

He emphasized that the CCP could utilize its influence over servers in China to commandeer American contracts, financial records, and various business documents regularly uploaded to DeepSeek’s chatbot.

“We must investigate DeepSeek’s harmful activities. We cannot afford to let the CCP infiltrate the devices used by our government officials, jeopardizing our national security.”

“Texas will not permit the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s vital infrastructure through data-collecting AI and social media applications,” asserted Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “Texas will actively defend our state from hostile foreign entities.”

DeepSeek has raised significant data privacy issues since the release of its free open-source AI model in January. According to its privacy policy page, the application is managed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence.

Key security worries surrounding DeepSeek include its censorship policies, potential copyright infringements, and its compliance with Chinese laws and regulations that obligate individuals and firms to assist Chinese authorities with intelligence operations by submitting data collected domestically and abroad.

In that context, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters on January 28 that the government is examining the potential national security threats posed by the DeepSeek AI application.

Established in 2023 by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek asserted that the company follows Chinese regulations and laws, alongside “socialist core values.” Similarly, social media platforms associated with Chinese state bodies propagated supportive narratives about DeepSeek just before its widespread entry into the U.S. market earlier this month.

DeepSeek is not the first technological platform to spread the CCP’s censorship and revisionist ideology.

The social media giant TikTok faced criticism back in 2020 for being found to suppress content related to the CCP’s human rights violations.

Additionally, Gottheimer and LaHood’s legislation is not the first legal action taken in response to DeepSeek within the U.S. government.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced his own Senate proposal following DeepSeek’s launch. This initiative seeks to terminate U.S.-China collaborations in AI development entirely by banning the export or import of AI products with the communist regime. It would also prohibit U.S. companies from investing in Chinese AI development.

According to Gottheimer and LaHood’s joint statement, DeepSeek’s code has transmitted user data to China Mobile, a state-owned telecom that is banned in the U.S. due to its connections with the CCP’s military.

“The national security danger that DeepSeek—a company linked to the CCP—poses to the United States is alarming,” LaHood expressed.

“DeepSeek’s generative AI program collects data from U.S. users and retains this information for unspecified use by the CCP. Under no circumstances should we allow a CCP entity to access sensitive government or personal data,” he continued.

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