New York — Amid growing concerns over national security and technological competition with China, a bipartisan coalition in the United States Congress is preparing to introduce legislation aimed at banning the use of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by a Chinese startup, on government-issued devices. The proposed bill, championed by Representatives Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, and Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, underscores Washington’s intensifying scrutiny of foreign technology firms and their potential risks to U.S. cybersecurity.
The legislation, expected to be unveiled on Friday, would mandate the removal of DeepSeek and any associated software from all federal government devices within a 60-day period. In addition to restricting DeepSeek, the bill would also extend to any applications developed by its parent company, High Flyer, which has been linked to China’s expanding influence in artificial intelligence development. The proposed restrictions come in the wake of concerns that foreign-developed AI tools could be used to compromise U.S. security interests by providing unauthorized access to sensitive government communications and data.
DeepSeek has become a focal point in the larger geopolitical battle over artificial intelligence supremacy. The AI startup recently shocked industry experts in Silicon Valley and Wall Street by unveiling its latest model, R1, which rivals the capabilities of top-tier American AI systems while boasting a more cost-effective and power-efficient framework. Given that DeepSeek operates under strict U.S. sanctions that limit its access to high-performance AI chips, its rapid advancement has fueled anxieties in Washington that China is closing the gap in AI development, potentially outpacing American efforts in this critical technological domain.
The concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers align with actions taken by several allied nations, including Australia, Italy, and Taiwan, which have moved to curb or outright ban Chinese-developed AI applications in government systems. The fundamental issue at the heart of these measures is the potential risk posed by China’s cybersecurity laws, which require domestic companies to comply with government data requests, raising fears that sensitive U.S. government information could be vulnerable to foreign surveillance.
Cybersecurity experts warn that AI-powered applications, including chatbots like DeepSeek, collect and process vast amounts of user data, potentially making them valuable tools for espionage. Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity analyst at NordVPN, cautioned in a recent statement that “users need to be aware that any data shared with the platform could be subject to government access under China’s cybersecurity laws, which mandate that companies provide access to data upon request by authorities.”
DeepSeek has yet to respond to mounting scrutiny or issue a formal statement regarding the proposed U.S. legislation. However, the situation bears striking similarities to the ongoing efforts to regulate TikTok, the widely popular social media platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns that TikTok’s China-based ownership could enable the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to collect personal data on American users, a fear that led to federal bans on the app in government-issued devices starting in 2022.
ByteDance is now facing a legally imposed deadline of fewer than 60 days to divest from TikTok or face a nationwide ban in the U.S., following bipartisan legislative action and an extension granted by former President Donald Trump in January. Representative Gottheimer, a key supporter of the DeepSeek ban, drew direct parallels between the two cases, stating, “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. We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security. We’ve seen China’s playbook before with TikTok, and we cannot allow it to happen again.”
As AI becomes an integral part of modern governance, the security risks associated with foreign-controlled technologies remain at the forefront of U.S. policy discussions. The legislative push to ban DeepSeek underscores Washington’s ongoing efforts to fortify national cybersecurity measures in an era of escalating digital threats and geopolitical competition.
