The Donald Trump administration is considering banning the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek from U.S. government devices due to national security concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Officials are concerned about how DeepSeek handles user data, which the company reportedly stores on servers in China.
In addition to restricting the chatbot on government-issued devices, policymakers are also exploring broader measures, including banning DeepSeek from U.S. app stores and imposing limits on how American cloud service providers can offer their AI models to customers. However, discussions on these potential restrictions remain at an early stage.
DeepSeek has gained attention for its low-cost AI models, which triggered a significant sell-off in global equity markets in January amid investor concerns that the Chinese company could challenge dominant players in the AI sector.
The chatbot is seen as a potential competitor to Western-developed AI systems, including those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
The potential ban would align with previous U.S. efforts to limit Chinese technology in sensitive sectors. Washington has already imposed restrictions on firms such as Huawei and TikTok, citing data security and national security risks.
Any action against DeepSeek could further escalate tensions between the U.S. and China over AI development and digital infrastructure.
