A coalition of attorneys general from 21 states in the United States has jointly sent a letter to Congress urging swift legislation to ban the use of the Chinese-developed artificial intelligence application, DeepSeek, on government devices. They argue that the application could potentially serve as a tool for the Chinese Communist Party to steal American national secrets, posing an “obvious and direct threat” to U.S. security.
The letter addressed to the leaders of the House and Senate was drafted by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and supported by attorneys general from states such as Alabama, Texas, and Virginia.
The attorneys general expressed concerns that DeepSeek appears to be another tool for Chinese (CCP) espionage targeting U.S. national security. They warned that the Chinese government could utilize the application to collect user data such as chat records, keyboard inputs, and IP addresses, posing a threat to American national security.
“Given the Chinese (CCP) desire to steal U.S. secrets and DeepSeek’s capability to facilitate such theft, Congress should swiftly pass legislation to ban the use of DeepSeek on government devices,” the letter stated. “Congress passed similar legislation two years ago to prevent TikTok from extracting information from our government.”
The attorneys general urged Congress, stating that “China (CCP) is attempting to steal American secrets, and the United States must fight back. Congress should pass the ‘No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act’ to shut down China (CCP)’s latest Trojan horse.”
Last week, members of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee and the Special Subcommittee on U.S.-China Strategic Competition, including Representatives Darin LaHood (Republican from Illinois) and Josh Gottheimer (Democratic from New Jersey), wrote to governors of various states urging an immediate ban on downloading and using DeepSeek on government devices.
Currently, at least three states – Virginia, Texas, and New York – have already issued orders prohibiting state government agencies from using DeepSeek.
DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company, and security researchers have found that the code on DeepSeek’s website may automatically send some user login information to China Mobile, a company banned from operating in the United States due to its close ties to the Chinese military.
Due to these security risks, several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Italy, have already blocked the use of DeepSeek.