After bipartisan legislation was introduced to stop DeepSeek from being downloaded on government devices, President Donald Trump called it "a good development" and a cheaper way to utilize artificial intelligence.
The bill, titled the "No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act," is being sponsored by Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Illinois, and Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey.
"The national security threat that DeepSeek—a CCP-affiliated company—poses to the United States is alarming," said LaHood. "DeepSeek’s generative AI program acquires the data of U.S. users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP. Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data."
RELATED STORY | Defense Intelligence Agency workers offered buyouts
In a news release, the lawmakers warned of a national security threat, stating that the generative AI program affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party acquires data from U.S. users. If downloaded on federal workers' devices, this could lead to the collection of sensitive information.
“The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans. Now, we have deeply disturbing evidence that they are using DeepSeek to steal the sensitive data of U.S. citizens. This is a five-alarm national security fire,” said Gottheimer.
The two representatives lead the House National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee. The committee had its first hearing of the new Congress on Friday.
RELATED STORY | Trump signs executive order to 'eradicate anti-Christian bias' in government
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
