U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood have introduced a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House, aimed at banning the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek from being used on government-owned devices. The legislation, titled the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” targets federal employees, preventing them from using the app due to concerns over its potential misuse by the Chinese government for surveillance and misinformation. This move follows similar actions taken against the social media app TikTok, which has faced scrutiny for security and data privacy reasons.
The bill comes in response to recent developments surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that gained attention in January after it released a highly competitive AI model. The model performed at levels comparable to those developed by American tech giants like OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet, but at a fraction of the cost. This sparked significant concern among U.S. lawmakers and technology experts, who worry that the Chinese Communist Party could leverage such advancements for espionage and to undermine U.S. national security.
Amid growing competition between the U.S. and China in technological innovation, this legislation reflects a broader push by the U.S. government to regulate Chinese technology companies that pose potential national security threats. Over the past few years, the U.S. has taken several measures to counteract Chinese influence, including imposing tariffs, restricting Chinese tech companies like Huawei from government systems, and limiting exports of critical technology like microchips. The debate over Chinese AI technology has added another layer of complexity to this ongoing geopolitical tension.
The proposed bill not only targets DeepSeek but also any AI applications developed by its parent company, High-Flyer, with exceptions made for national security and research purposes. While this legislation is gaining support, some lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley, are calling for even stricter measures. Hawley’s bill proposes an outright ban on all AI technology imports and exports from China, citing national security concerns, reflecting the growing anxiety over China’s technological advancements.
