US lawmakers propose bill to ban DeepSeek on govt devices

Following the lead of several countries, US lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, from government devices. The move comes amid growing concerns over national security and data privacy.

Countries like Italy, South Korea, India, Taiwan, and Australia have already imposed full or partial bans on DeepSeek, citing security risks, according to Reuters.

The bill was put forward by US Representatives Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois. They described DeepSeek as a serious threat to US national security.

Gottheimer stated that the Chinese Communist Party could use AI tools like DeepSeek to spread misinformation, collect data on Americans, and undermine national security. Lawmakers also pointed to alleged ties between DeepSeek and the Chinese government.

A recent report by US cybersecurity firm Feroot Security claimed that DeepSeek contains hidden code capable of secretly sending user data to China Mobile, a state-owned telecom company.

The proposed ban adds to the growing restrictions on Chinese AI technologies. Despite security concerns, DeepSeek has gained massive popularity, quickly becoming the top-rated app on the Play Store and Apple App Store in multiple countries.

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