US commerce department bans China's DeepSeek on government devices

U.S. Commerce Department bureaus have reportedly issued a blanket ban on the Chinese AI model DeepSeek for use on government-furnished equipment, according to sources and a mass email seen by Reuters.

The directive, aimed at safeguarding sensitive information, warned staff not to download, view, or access any applications, desktop apps, or websites related to DeepSeek on their government devices.

The ban comes amid growing concerns among U.S. officials and lawmakers that DeepSeek’s low-cost AI models could pose a threat to data privacy and national security. Earlier this year, the release of DeepSeek sparked a significant selloff in global equity markets, as investors feared that its efficiency might erode the United States’ competitive edge in artificial intelligence.

In response to these concerns, Congress members Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence introduced legislation in February to prohibit the use of DeepSeek on government devices. They also sent letters to several U.S. governors urging similar bans at the state level, highlighting that use of the app could result in the inadvertent sharing of highly sensitive, proprietary information with the Chinese Communist Party.

Several states, including Virginia, Texas, and New York, have already implemented bans on DeepSeek on government-issued devices, and a coalition of 21 state attorneys general has called on Congress to pass federal legislation to address the issue. The Commerce Department has not yet commented on the ban, and Reuters was unable to determine the full extent of the prohibition across the federal government.

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