DeepSeek’s low-cost artificial intelligence models triggered a significant selloff in global equity markets in January, as investors grew anxious about the potential threat to the United States’ dominance in AI.
Concerns over DeepSeek have also reached Washington, with U.S. officials and lawmakers raising alarms about the risks to data privacy and national security.
In February, Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood, both members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced legislation to prohibit the use of DeepSeek on government devices.
Earlier this month, the lawmakers escalated their efforts by sending letters to U.S. governors, urging them to ban the Chinese AI application from government-issued equipment.
“By using DeepSeek, users are unknowingly sharing highly sensitive, proprietary information with the CCP — such as contracts, documents, and financial records,” the congressmen warned in a March 3 letter, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the CCP, a known foreign adversary.”
Several states, including Virginia, Texas, and New York, have already banned DeepSeek from government devices. Additionally, a coalition of 21 state attorneys general has called on Congress to enact federal legislation to restrict its use.
