Bipartisan Legislators Drive State-Level Initiative to Ban DeepSeek Amid Security Worries

March 6, 2025 TruthUSA

They cautioned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will “utilize any available means to compromise our national security, distribute harmful misinformation, and gather data on American citizens.”

On March 3, U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) sent a letter to over 40 state governors, urging a ban on DeepSeek for government-issued devices amid concerns regarding the chatbot’s potential to collect sensitive information.

In their communication to 47 governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C., the lawmakers stated that DeepSeek is engineered to collect user data, raising alarms about data privacy, cybersecurity, and access to governmental records.

The representatives indicated that recent studies have uncovered direct links between DeepSeek’s source code and the CCP, with the capability to share user information with China Mobile.

China Mobile, a state-run telecommunications enterprise, has close ties to the People’s Liberation Army, and the letter mentions that the Federal Communications Commission has prohibited its operations within the United States.

The letter warns that users of DeepSeek might inadvertently expose sensitive information—such as contracts, documents, and financial records—to China, which would serve as a “significant asset for the CCP,” identified as “a known foreign adversary.”

Additionally, it notes that “the CCP has explicitly indicated its intention to exploit any mechanism at its disposal to weaken our national security, propagate harmful misinformation, and harvest data on American citizens.”

This action follows the introduction of bipartisan legislation by Gottheimer and LaHood on February 6 titled the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” which seeks to “forbid the use of DeepSeek by federal employees on government-issued devices.”

LaHood emphasized in a statement that “the technological competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a race the United States cannot afford to lose.”

Gottheimer pointed to evidence that the CCP is “utilizing DeepSeek to steal sensitive data from U.S. citizens” and labeled it “a five-alarm national security issue,” according to his remarks.

The recent letter also highlights Huawei, a global tech firm that manufactures smart devices, laptops, and telecom equipment, along with ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, as significant threats to national security.

It conveys that Congress intends to “prioritize the safety and security of state-operated devices, particularly those employed to access or store confidential information.”

In their appeal to governors, the two representatives stated, “We strongly urge you to implement a ban on the use and installation of DeepSeek across all state government-affiliated devices and networks.”

“By implementing these restrictions,” the letter from Gottheimer and LaHood concludes, “you would communicate a clear commitment to upholding the highest security standards and preventing one of our major adversaries from accessing sensitive state, federal, and personal data.”

Some U.S. States and Other Nations Take Action Against DeepSeek

Texas was the pioneer state to prohibit DeepSeek from government networks and devices on January 31, with New York and Virginia soon following.

Florida recently joined the effort, as State CFO Jimmy Patronis announced on February 20 that DeepSeek will now be prohibited in the Department of Financial Services.

A letter from Gottheimer and LaHood, which was acquired by The Epoch Times, was sent to Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, implying that certain sectors of his administration have yet to adopt these restrictions.

According to the letter, Congress perceives the United States as a frontrunner in identifying the threats posed by DeepSeek and other digital technologies from China.

The U.S. is not the sole country taking action against DeepSeek.

On February 19, The Epoch Times reported that South Korea had suspended DeepSeek and removed it from app stores after it was discovered that the chatbot had transmitted data to an IP address linked to ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company based in Beijing.

In early February, Australia’s Secretary for Home Affairs announced similar prohibitions, citing “risk and threat information.”

The nation’s Protective Security Policy Framework website called for “Australian Government entities to prohibit the use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications, and web services and to remove any existing instances from all Australian Government systems and devices.”

Last month, the Netherlands’ digital security authority issued an order for all civil servants to cease using the application and cautioned the general populace.

“If you, as a user in the Netherlands, upload a document containing personal details, like a CV, to the DeepSeek chatbot, that personal information could be stored on a server in China,” stated Aleid Wolfsen, Chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

“This warning extends to all inquiries you enter into the chatbot. Be mindful of this. The system relies on the data you provide. Recognize that you might inadvertently share sensitive information about others by using that chatbot.”

Canada took similar measures on February 6, citing “privacy concerns related to the improper collection and retention of sensitive personal information,” as mentioned in an email obtained by The Epoch Times from the country’s Chief Information Officer.

The notice further stated that this decision was “precautionary” and aimed at “protecting government networks and data,” recommending that agencies limit the use of the DeepSeek chatbot on government devices.

In January, Italy restricted the artificial intelligence platform. Following this, the country’s independent authority on data privacy, Garante, reached out to DeepSeek regarding concerns about its user data management, finding the company’s responses insufficient since it claimed EU laws did not apply to it given that it was not based in the European Union.

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