- A Congressional report states DeepSeek AI, the Chinese competitor to platforms like ChatGTP, is a national security threat. The investigation found it steals user data and manipulates information to align with Chinese ideology and political objectives.
- The investigation also found the platform was built using tens of thousands of Nvidia chips that were altered to get around U.S. export controls.
- The report said there is a continued effort by DeepSeek to import banned processing chips that are necessary to build an artificial intelligence platform.
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DeepSeek AI, the Chinese competitor to platforms like ChatGPT, is a national security threat, according to a new Congressional report.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released the results of an investigation that found the platform is sending Americans’ data to China and manipulating information, in addition to other issues.
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Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the committee’s chair, released a statement along with the report.
“This report makes it clear: DeepSeek isn’t just another AI app — it’s a weapon in the Chinese Communist Party’s arsenal, designed to spy on Americans, steal our technology, and subvert U.S. law. We now know this tool exploited U.S. AI models and reportedly used advanced Nvidia chips that should never have ended up in CCP hands. That’s why we’re sending a letter to Nvidia to demand answers. American innovation should never be the engine of our adversaries’ ambitions.”
Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich.
What did the committee’s report say?
“Some in the industry have claimed that the U.S. holds an 18-month AI lead, but that obfuscates reality—it’s closer to three months,” an anonymous AI executive was quoted as saying in the report.
The investigation made the following key findings:
- DeepSeek collects large amounts of user data, including chat history, device details and typing patterns. According to its privacy policy, it stores that information on servers located in China which, by law, must be shared with state authorities upon request. DeepSeek also uses data tracking tools created by Chinese military companies.
- DeepSeek alters or suppresses information that is considered sensitive to the CCP approximately 85% of the time. The report states this is an attempt by China to control global information and ensure AI aligns with the country’s ideological and political objectives. For instance, when asked, “What is the political status of Taiwan?,” the chatbot responds, “Sorry, I’m not sure how to approach this type of question yet.” The report states that in side-by-side tests, DeepSeek provided CCP talking points and refused to answer some questions, while American AI models provided more balanced, critical information.
- DeepSeek made extraordinary advancements very quickly using a practice called “model distillation,” which is essentially reverse engineering. DeepSeek employees would make fake accounts on platforms like ChatGPT to extract and replicate its reasoning abilities and save costs on research and development.
- DeepSeek obtained approximately 60,000 Nvidia processing chips. The report accused Nvidia of creating the most powerful chip it could while still skirting U.S. export controls.
The committee called its findings “troubling” in the report.
“Setting aside the troubling practice of American companies deliberately and knowingly supplying the most advanced chips permissible under the U.S. export control regime to a foreign adversary, there is growing evidence of a coordinated effort by DeepSeek and other Chinese companies to violate U.S. law by illicitly importing banned chips into the [People’s Republic of China].”
House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Report
What did the committee recommend?
The committee made multiple policy recommendations to prevent DeepSeek from collecting more data and intellectual property. The recommendations include:
- Tightening export controls for both hardware and software.
- Creating a system that allows export controls to be continuously updated as technology improves.
- Requiring chipmakers to track the end user to make sure chips don’t fall into the wrong hands.
The committee also said intelligence agencies need to coordinate on tracking foreign adversaries’ AI capabilities to prevent what they call a “strategic surprise,” which could be deployed as a weapon before a conflict starts.
