Bipartisan reps urge governors to ban DeepSeek on government devices

• Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood urged 47 governors to ban the Chinese AI app DeepSeek from government devices. Their letter highlights concerns over data privacy, cybersecurity risks and the app’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
• The lawmakers introduced an act that would ban the download and use of DeepSeek on government devices. The Senate has introduced similar legislation.
• Virginia, Texas and New York have already banned DeepSeek from being used on government devices.

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A bipartisan pair of lawmakers on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence sent a letter to 47 governors urging them to immediately ban the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek from government-issued devices. In February, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., introduced an act banning its download and use on government devices.

According to Gottheimer’s office, Virginia, Texas and New York have already taken this action. The Senate also introduced similar legislation last week.

In their letter, the lawmakers express concerns over data privacy, cybersecurity risks and sensitive government information related to DeepSeek’s software.

“Recent research has revealed that DeepSeek’s code is directly linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the ability to share user data with China Mobile,” the letter states.

“By using DeepSeek, users are unknowingly sharing highly sensitive, proprietary information with the CCP—such as contracts, documents, and financial records,” the lawmakers added. “In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the CCP, a known foreign adversary. The CCP has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans.”

In January, cybersecurity researchers at Wiz Research found DeepSeek suffered a major security breach. It exposed more than a million sensitive records, including chat logs and operational metadata.

“We implore you to follow suit and ban the use and download of DeepSeek from all state government-affiliated devices and networks,” the lawmakers wrote. “By enacting these bans, you would send a clear message that your state remains committed to maintaining the highest level of security and preventing one of our greatest adversaries from accessing sensitive state, federal, and personal information.”