Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., have introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act, which would prohibit federal employees from using the China-produced artificial intelligence tool.
The House bill would prevent the use of DeepSeek on devices owned by the U.S. government, Gottheimer said in a Thursday press release, noting that the United States has evidence indicating that the AI technology is designed to steal data from U.S. citizens.
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National Security Threat
According to LaHood, the legislation “will ban the app from federal workers’ phones while closing backdoor operations the company seeks to exploit for access.” He added that DeepSeek poses an alarming national security threat to the United States.
Citing new research, the lawmakers said the DeepSeek code is linked to the Chinese Communist Party and thus adversarial to U.S. interests. They stressed that the AI platform can potentially share user data with China Mobile, a telecom company owned by the Chinese government and with close association with China’s military.
Designed to Collect Sensitive Data
The legislators also warned that by using DeepSeek, Americans could be sharing sensitive information with the technology’s owner, including contracts, documents and financial records. DeekSeek could deliver such critical data to the CCP, which declared “it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” explained Gottheimer.