In a bipartisan effort to safeguard sensitive information from falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), two members of the House Intelligence Committee are set to introduce a bill that would prohibit the use of DeepSeek's chatbot application on all US government-issued devices.
Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) have raised concerns over DeepSeek's potential ties to the CCP, warning that American users are unwittingly sharing confidential data such as contracts, documents, and financial records through the app. Recent revelations suggest that DeepSeek's AI technology not only collects user data but also has the capability to share it with China Mobile, a company with strong connections to the Chinese government and military.
The lawmakers pointed to a recent incident at the Pentagon where employees connected their work computers to Chinese servers to access DeepSeek's chatbot, prompting the Defense Information Systems Agency to swiftly block access to the startup. This move was made amid growing fears that sensitive government and personal information could be compromised and exploited by the CCP through backdoor channels facilitated by DeepSeek.
Drawing parallels to the ban on TikTok within federal agencies, the proposed legislation aims to prevent CCP-affiliated companies from gaining access to critical data. LaHood emphasized the importance of closing off potential avenues for exploitation, asserting that protecting government and personal data from foreign interference is paramount.
If passed, the bill would enforce a ban on the use of DeepSeek's chatbot on federal workers' phones, with specific exemptions granted for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes. This bipartisan initiative underscores a concerted effort to safeguard national security interests and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information by foreign entities.