US lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday seeking to ban the use of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) program DeepSeek on government devices due to concerns over user data security.
Representative Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Representative Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, co-sponsored the bill, citing a “serious threat to US national security” and warning of DeepSeek’s “direct ties” to the Chinese government.
The legislation follows a report by US cybersecurity firm Feroot Security, which found that DeepSeek’s AI model contains hidden code capable of transmitting user data to China Mobile, a state-owned telecom company.
Chinese startup DeepSeek made global headlines last month with the launch of its low-cost, high-quality chatbot, challenging the dominance of US and other countries in the AI race.
“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,” Gottheimer said in a statement.
LaHood labeled DeepSeek a “CCP-affiliated company” and stressed that “under no circumstances” should it be allowed access to sensitive government or personal data.
The House of Representatives’ move comes amid growing international scrutiny of DeepSeek. South Korean ministries and police recently blocked the AI tool from government computers after the company failed to respond to a data watchdog’s inquiry about its handling of user information.
Australia has also banned DeepSeek from government devices based on security agency recommendations, while France and Italy have raised concerns over the company’s data practices.
Separately, video-sharing app TikTok is facing pressure in the US, where a new law mandates that its parent company, ByteDance, divest its ownership or risk being banned.
